In Pakistan, officials announced on Wednesday (September 3) that nearly 300,000 people have been evacuated from flood-affected areas in the Punjab province in the past 48 hours following the latest flood alert issued by India. This evacuation brings the total number of people displaced since last month to 1.3 million.
Irfan Ali Kathia, the director of the Disaster Management Authority of Punjab province, stated that earlier on Wednesday, India shared a new flood alert with Pakistan through diplomatic channels.
Following the flooding in Narowal District and Sialkot District near the Indian border, dozens of villages in Muzaffargarh District of Punjab province are currently submerged. Efforts are underway by Pakistani authorities to divert the overflowing river water into farmlands to protect major cities from flooding, as part of the largest rescue operation in the history of the Punjab region. Punjab is a region that spans eastern Pakistan and northwest India, divided between Pakistani Punjab province and Indian Punjab state.
Director Kathia pointed out that thousands of rescue personnel are involved in the operation using boats, and the military has been deployed to assist in the safe evacuation of affected residents and livestock. So far, as many as 33,000 villages in Punjab province have been impacted, with over 3.3 million people affected by the disaster.
Meanwhile, the Indian state of Punjab, often referred to as the “granary of India,” is also facing what is described as the “worst floods in decades.” Since August 1, disasters such as landslides and floods have claimed at least 30 lives in the state, forcing nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes.