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ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned that Pakistan’s flood-hit Punjab province has been witnessing an increase in vector-borne diseases even though provincial authorities have not yet reported any major outbreak.

Punjab, the country’s most populous and breadbasket province, has been facing a flood-emergency, fueled by above-normal rains and India’s release of excess water, which has affected more than 2.4 million people and killed 41 people in the last 10 days, according to the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA).

Authorities have relocated more than 850,000 people to relief camps, where the WHO says unsafe drinking water and mosquitoes pose the main epidemic risks, making displaced people vulnerable to diarrhea, typhoid, malaria, dengue and skin infections.

“Although no major outbreak has been reported so far, an upsurge has been detected for vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue, water-borne diseases like acute watery diarrhea, and skin diseases like scabies and eye infections,” Dr. Jose Ignacio Martin Galan, head of communications at the WHO Pakistan Country Office, told Arab News.

To reduce these risks, WHO has urged authorities to prioritize access to essential health services, medicines, diagnostic kits and psychosocial support, along with shelters, food, safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.

“Equally important are water, sanitation and hygiene interventions to reduce outbreak risks and the protection of vulnerable groups in relief camps,” Dr. Galan told Arab News.

Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, but increasingly erratic and extreme weather patterns are turning the annual rains, which are vital for agriculture, food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers, into a destructive force.

The Punjab government says it has already mobilized resources and more than 100,000 patients have received treatment at field hospitals in flood-hit districts.

“In Lahore alone, 9,000 people have been treated so far,” Punjab Health Minister Imran Nazir told Arab News, adding that over 850 relief camps are providing medicines and treatment for malaria, fever, rabies, snake bites, diarrhea and skin diseases.

“We are prepared for epidemics that may spread in the coming days. All kinds of medicines have been stocked in district, tehsil, and field hospitals.”

Nazir said special facilities have also been arranged for pregnant women who have been displaced by the deluges.

Health experts, however, urge more effective measures, saying unsafe drinking water remains the biggest threat to public health in flood-affected areas.

“If safe water supply cannot be ensured, simple filters or chlorine tablets with clear instructions in the local language should be provided,” Rana Asghar, an epidemiologist and former resident adviser at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Arab News.

CHINIOT: Across the fertile plains of Pakistan’s Punjab, families are struggling to rebuild their lives after the worst flooding in decades swept away homes, destroyed crops, and drowned livestock.

“Thirteen of my 15 acres are gone,” said Muhammad Amjad, 45, a rice and potato farmer in Chiniot, as he stood by submerged fields. “Our rice is completely destroyed. Women and children have evacuated. Men are left guarding what remains.”

The provincial disaster management authority said more than two million people have been affected, with more than 2,000 villages inundated. Approximately 760,000 people and 516,000 animals have been evacuated, and at least 33 people have died in less than a week.

Amish Sultan, 50, lost his only source of income.

“I have 10 buffaloes. They’re so weak there’s no milk left for my children, let alone to sell. I used to earn 100,000 to 150,000 rupees a month. That stability is gone.”

Farm laborer Mehdi Hassan, 40, said entire neighborhoods were washed away.

“My home is completely destroyed. We’ve been left on the roadside with whatever we could carry. We tried to build our own dams but the water still took everything.”

Officials say the floods are the worst in decades, with major dams near capacity, and more rain is forecast.

BUMPER TO BUST

Farmers and exporters warn the impact on agriculture will be staggering. Rice, sugarcane, maize, vegetables, and cotton fields across Punjab are under water.

“We were expecting a bumper rice crop this year,” said Ibrahim Shafiq, export manager at Latif Rice Mills.

“Paddy was forecast to open at 3,200–3,600 rupees per 40kg, but with flood damage, prices could rise to 5,000–5,500. That will push rice prices up for local consumers and make us uncompetitive against India internationally.”

Cotton losses also threaten the textile industry, which makes up more than half of Pakistan’s exports, at a time when the country faces a 19 percent US tariff in its biggest market.

Agriculture technology firm Farmdar said the damage is likely to be exponential, given the vast stretches of farmland along the rivers now under water.

Ghasharib Shoukat, co-founder of commodities platform Zarai Mandi warned wheat, vegetable, and cotton shortages would ripple through supply chains, hurting exports and household budgets.

The disaster comes at a sensitive moment for Pakistan’s fragile economy. Inflation had cooled to 4.1 percent in July from 11.1 percent a year earlier, and food inflation, which spiked above 50 percent in 2023, had eased.

Officials now expect the August inflation reading, due Monday, to come in at 4–5 percent, with food shortages already driving prices higher. Analysts say delayed wheat sowing, shrinking rice exports and the need to import cotton will deepen the pressure.

TENTS NOW, TOMORROW UNKNOWN

The destruction extends beyond fields. In Lahore, 38-year-old rickshaw driver Aslam said he waded through six feet (two meters) of water to pull his three-wheeler vehicle to safety.

“I’ve lived near the Ravi all my life and it never flooded my home before. This time it came inside in hours. If I hadn’t saved my rickshaw, we would have lost everything. It is my only livelihood,” said Aslam, who is now living in a relief tent.

A muddy tent city has been erected near the Ravi River, where families huddle under tarpaulins and tents, some beside foul-smelling drains.

About 150 to 200 camps have been set up for the displaced just in that area, said Dr. Ijaz Nazeer of Al Khidmat Foundation. Each tent is home to around five to eight people.

With three of Pakistan’s main rivers in flood, authorities in the Punjab have set up 511 relief camps, 351 medical sites, and 321 veterinary facilities, evacuating nearly 481,000 people and 405,000 animals so far. More than 15,000 police officers have been deployed as monsoon rains continue.

Farmers and experts warn the cost of recovery will run into billions of rupees to rebuild homes and re-establish farms.

Farmer and activist Aamer Hayat Bhandara said unless the recovery is supported, food insecurity will deepen.

“Farmers grow the food that sustains us all. If they are left alone in times of disaster, the whole nation will suffer,” he said.