Sutlej River attains very high water level: Over 0.25m people evacuated, shifted to safe places

ISLAMABAD: The government has evacuated some 256,610 persons and shifted to safer places owing to the rise in water level in the Sutlej River which has attained a very high level. Moreover, 18,671 livestock are also evacuated.

According to officials of the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the authorities have deployed 1,408 rescue persons with 372 boats to rescue the people and shift them to safer places.

With the issuance of timely early warning/advisory and pro-active engagement of all stakeholders by the NDMA, coordinated evacuation of vulnerable/at-risk population from low-lying areas adjacent to River Sutlej has been ensured in districts Kasur, Okara, Bahawalnagar, Pakpattan, Vehari, Bahawalpur, and Lodhran.

Sutlej River: over 76,000 evacuated from Bahawalpur

River Sutlej at Ganda Singh Wala has fallen to high flood and water levels have started to reduce in the river at Sulemanki after attaining an unprecedented high level. River Sutlej at Islam is likely to attain a medium-high flood level on 24/25 August.

At-risk districts include Kasur, Okara, Bahawalnagar, Pakpattan, Vehari, Bahawalpur, and Lodhran. Sharp peaks of medium-high flood may occur from 23-25 August in River Jhelum at Mangla. Moreover, from 23-27 August, rain-wind/thundershowers with a few moderate to heavy falls and occasional gaps are expected, the spokesman said.

The officials said the affected districts are major maize, cotton, paddy, and vegetable producing region of the country and floods have caused serious damage to the standing crops but at this point, monetary losses cannot be measured, however, after receding of water flows the authorities will calculate the damages to the crops and property.

Responding to a question whether India was violating the Indus Waters Treaty by releasing such a huge quantum of water in the River Sutlej, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) official said India had already informed about the high floods in the river and moreover, the relevant quarters in Pakistan are also monitoring the situation closely as a result of coordinated efforts over 250,000 people have been evacuated from the danger zone.

The officials said the unprecedented high floods in River Sutlej have submerged thousands of acres of land besides cutting off road access to dozens of villages in Kasur district. An official of the IRSA said the situation will continue for another three to four days as India is releasing excess water from Pong and Bakhra dams daily, maintaining exceptionally high flood levels in the River Sutlej at Ganda Singh Wala.

As per Chief Meteorologist Muhammad Aslam, River Sutlej has never attained such a high flood level in the past. Water flow at Ganda Singh Wala was recorded at 280,000 cusecs on Saturday, the highest in the history of the country which now has reduced to 130,000 cusecs. While the water level at Sulmanki was recorded at 191,053 cusecs as of Tuesday which is a very high level. The deluge damaged standing crops on thousands of acres in Kasur district while there is no land access to at least 50 villages.

The administration has already shifted a large number of people from possible flood-hit areas to the relief camps. Rescue operation is under way to take stranded people, their valuable belongings and animals to safer places.

The ongoing floods triggered by monsoon so far have resulted in the deaths of 211 people, injuring 306, destroying 5,746 houses and killing 1,256 livestock during the current rainy season that started on June 25, 2023, provisional figures released by the NDMA revealed.

Out of a total of 5,747 damaged houses, 2,012 are completely destroyed and 3,734 are partially damaged. The floodwaters have also swept away a total of five bridges, of which, four in Balochistan and one in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) as well as sweeping away 23.82 kilometres of roads, of which, 22 kilometres in Balochistan and 1.82 kilometres in G-B.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023