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ISLAMABAD: At least 33 people have been killed due to torrential rains and floods in Pakistan’s Punjab this week, a senior official confirmed on Sunday, as authorities ramp up rescue and relief activities with nearly 750,000 citizens evacuated to safer locations as deluges devastate the eastern province. 

Punjab, Pakistan’s richest and most prosperous province, has been hit hard by floods triggered by heavy monsoon showers and excess water released by India this week. 

Punjab’s flooding crisis comes amid what the Met Office described as the ninth spell of monsoon rains, expected to continue until Sept. 2 as authorities struggle to provide food, medical aid and protection to citizens in all districts of the province affected by dangerously rising water levels in rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej. 

“As per the latest death reported in Chiniot, the total number of flood-related deaths has risen to 33 [this week],” Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia told reporters during a news briefing. 

He said nearly 750,000 people had been evacuated from high-risk flood areas to safer locations while at least 2,200 villages in Punjab and over 2 million people had been affected by the floods, warning that both numbers were continuing to rise. 

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz separately wrote on social media platform X that the province was reaching out to every person in the province via rescue and relief activities. 

“The result is 746,664 human evacuations and close to 500,000 animal/livestock evacuations in just a few days,” she wrote.

Monsoon showers have wreaked devastation in Pakistan this year, with heavy rains killing at least 831 people and injuring 1,121 others since Jun. 26, as per the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) latest situation report. 

Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has reported the highest number of deaths, 480, followed by Punjab with 191, Sindh with 58, northern Gilgit-Baltistan region with 41 casualties, Azad Kashmir 29 deaths, Balochistan 24 and Islamabad eight since June. 

WATER LEVELS RISE

Briefing the media about surging water levels in Pakistan’s rivers, Kathia warned that a flow of around 900,000 cusecs is passing through the Chenab river in the eastern Jhang district, creating a critical situation.
He said a potentially dangerous situation can develop at Islam Headworks on river Sutlej within the next few hours as the flow of water has exceeded 100,000 cusecs at Head Sulemanki. 
He further said that river Ravi had already experienced a discharge of 200,000 cusecs of water while at Balloki, the water level was recorded at 211,000 cusecs with an additional 20,000 cusecs flowing from Nankana Sahib. 

The PDMA has previously reported that India’s Bhakra Dam is currently 84 percent full, Pong 94 percent, and Thein 92 percent, raising concerns of further cross-boundary water surges. Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of releasing excess flows into downstream rivers during monsoon peaks, intensifying flood risks in Punjab’s agricultural belt.

Officials have warned that the flood threat is likely to spread further south, with the NDMA cautioning that the Indus River at Guddu and Sukkur barrages is expected to reach very high flood levels between Sept. 4–5.

SHARJAH: Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz struck half-centuries as Pakistan thumped the United Arab Emirates by 31 runs in Sharjah on Saturday, making it two wins from two in their T20 tri-series also featuring Afghanistan.

Opener Ayub smashed a 38-ball 69, with four sixes and seven fours, while Nawaz’s 26-ball 56 included six maximums, lifting Pakistan to 207 all out in exactly 20 overs.

Asif Khan threatened to snatch an unlikely win for UAE with a brilliant 35-ball 77 before falling in the last over.

The UAE managed 176-8 from their 20 overs.

Skipper Muhammad Waseem also hit a breezy 18-ball 33 but was run out in the sixth over.

Earlier, Pakistan’s innings was built around the excellence of Ayub and Nawaz after they won the toss and batted first.

Once Pakistan lost Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman and skipper Salman Agha cheaply, it was left to Ayub and Hasan to provide the rescue acts.

Ayub’s fourth T20I half-century came off just 25 balls while Nawaz’s fifty was reached in 24 deliveries with a hat-trick of sixes off spinner Haider Ali.

Nawaz added 57 for the fifth wicket off just 25 balls with Mohammad Nawaz, who added a 15-ball 25.

Faheem Ashraf chipped in with 16 as Pakistan clubbed 64 in the last five overs.

Junaid Siddique and Saghir Khan grabbed three wickets apiece, but were both expensive.

Afghanistan, who lost to Pakistan by 39 runs on Friday, face the UAE in the next match on Monday.