• Panjnad flood wave recedes by 200,000 cusecs in 24 hours
• Entire union council of 40,000 submerged in Alipur tehsil
• 4,447 mouzas across 28 districts affected; relief and rehabilitation underway
LAHORE: While water levels have begun to recede significantly in some areas of south Punjab, with the Jalalpur Pirwala and Alipur tehsils of Multan declared safe after a major flood wave passed[1] through Head Panjnad, officials said evacuation and relief efforts continued from low-lying areas along the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers.
As many as 12,427 people were evacuated from low-lying areas along the three rivers in what authorities claimed one of the largest operations in recent history, involving a fleet of 1,517 rescue boats.
According to Punjab Rescue spokesperson Farooq Ahmed, the districts of Multan, Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan were among the hardest hit, with 3,274, 2,392 and 414 people rescued, respectively.
Evacuations extended across numerous other districts, including Lodhran, Bahawalpur and Kasur, illustrating the widespread nature of the crisis. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported that a staggering 2.5 million people have been evacuated from Punjab so far, with the floods claiming 101 lives and necessitating the rescue of 2.19m cattle heads.
Officials confirmed that water levels have begun to recede significantly in some areas. The government declared the tehsils of Jalalpur Pirwala and Alipur safe after a major flood wave passed through Head Panjnad, where water flow dropped dramatically from 684,000 cusecs on Friday night to 492,695 cusecs by Saturday evening, a decrease of nearly 200,000 cusecs in 24 hours.
The PDMA said that flows at most major headworks on all three rivers were “steady”.
Despite the improving situation, the humanitarian crisis remains severe. The entire union council of Lati Mari in Alipur tehsil, with a population of 40,000, was completely submerged.
Lati Mari resident Syed Kausar Shah told Dawn that around 15,000 people of his basti Azeem Shah evacuated on their own as the water started approaching their union council.
He said that all their houses and crops were destroyed due to an extremely high flood, and two people from the families who could not evacuate in time were drowned.
He said that a private boat was hired to evacuate the people. “Most of them were living in the houses of their relatives in Alipur city, some were also sitting on the dyke under the sky while others shifted to government relief camps,” he added.
The flood-affected people also suffered losses of cattle heads, as most of them could not evacuate their cattle. He said that six to seven feet of water is still flowing in their union council and they could not take away their belongings and also were not able to check whether it was safe or not.
Multan DC Waseem Hamid Sindhu said that 100,000 people were evacuated from Jalalpur Pirwala in the the last three days. He said that efforts were being made to fill the breaches in Shujabad and Jalalpur Pirwala and helicopters and drones were being used to transport medicine and dry food to remote areas.
He said that Jalalpur city was made safe, and the major flood wave of the Chenab and Sutlej rivers was crossing the Head Panjnad. He said that relief and rehabilitation of the flood-affected people had started, and food was being distributed through boats in rural areas of the city.
High-level flooding
Addressing a press conference in Bahawalpur, PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said that Panjnad Headworks is facing extremely high flood, with the water flow reaching 575,000 cusecs. He said that 80,000 cusecs of water receded at Panjand in some hours, and a maximum of 700,000 cusecs crossed three days ago.
He said that the Sutlej River had swelled to 385,000 cusecs this season, and all three rivers of the province simultaneously created high-level flooding.
He said that there was no threat to Jalalpur Pirwala and Alipur cities and water would also recede in Bahawalpur in the next 24 hours. A “historic” evacuation operation was conducted in Jalalpur Pirwala, and forced evacuation would have been conducted in the district of Multan, he added.
The DG said that 4,447 mouzas of 28 districts were affected due to flood water and 2.5m people were evacuated from Punjab. He said that 101 people lost their lives in floods and 2.19m cattle heads were also evacuated in the province and shifted to safe places.
Water flow
According to the Flood Forecasting Division’s data released at 9pm on Saturday, the water flow across major rivers was largely normal and steady.
On the Chenab River, flows are steady at all key locations, including Marala Headworks (62,081 cusecs), Khanki Headworks (65,049 cusecs), Qadirabad Headworks (64,588 cusecs) and Trimmu Headworks (100,645 cusecs). The flow at Panjnad Headworks was at 492,695 cusecs but was falling. The water level at Rivaz Bridge was 517.20 feet, which was steady and below its maximum level of 525 feet.
On the Ravi River, the water outflow was normal at Jassar (13,797 cusecs), Shahdara (14,906 cusecs) and Balloki Headworks (27,970 cusecs), but it was in low flood at Sidhnai Headworks at 40,809 cusecs.
On the Sutlej River, the water flow was in medium flood at Ganda Singh Wala Headworks (95,000 cusecs) and Islam Headworks (82,155 cusecs), while it was in low flood at Sulemanki Headworks (69,019 cusecs).
Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2025