LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistan’s jap Punjab province is coping with the largest flood in its historical past, a senior official stated Sunday, as water ranges of rivers rise to all-time highs.
International warming has worsened monsoon rains this yr in Pakistan, one of many international locations most susceptible to local weather change. Downpours and cloudbursts have triggered flash floods and landslides throughout the mountainous north and northwest in latest months.
Residents in jap Punjab have additionally skilled irregular quantities of rain, in addition to cross-border flooding after India launched water from swollen rivers and overflowing dams into Pakistan’s low-lying areas.
The senior minister for the province, Maryam Aurangzeb, instructed a press convention on Sunday: “That is the largest flood within the historical past of the Punjab. The flood has affected two million folks. It’s the primary time that the three rivers — Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi — have carried such excessive ranges of water.”
Native authorities are utilizing instructional establishments, police, and safety services as rescue camps, and evacuating folks, together with by boat, she stated.
“The Overseas Ministry is gathering knowledge relating to India’s deliberate launch of water into Pakistan,” added Aurangzeb. There was no instant remark from India.
India alerted its neighbor to the potential of cross-border flooding final week, the primary public diplomatic contact between the 2 international locations since a disaster introduced them near warfare in Might.
Punjab, residence to some 150 million folks, is an important a part of the nation’s agricultural sector and is Pakistan’s major wheat producer. Ferocious flooding in 2022 worn out enormous swaths of crops within the east and south of the nation, main Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to warn that his nation confronted meals shortages.
Figures from Pakistan’s nationwide climate middle present that Punjab obtained 26.5% extra monsoon rain between July 1 and August 27 in comparison with the identical interval final yr.
The nation’s catastrophe administration authority stated 849 folks have been killed and 1,130 injured nationwide in rain-related incidents since June 26.
Pakistan’s monsoon season normally runs to the tip of September.
