Flood level in Chenab eases from medium to low; PMD forecasts fresh rain spell for upper parts of Punjab from July 29

Chenab continued to witness flooding on Sunday, but with flow eased from medium to low, as the Met Office forecast a fresh rainfall spell from July 29 in the upper catchments of all major rivers, as well as Islamabad, upper Punjab and northern parts of the country.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Punjab said in a statement issued on Sunday morning that while the rivers in the province continued to flood due to rain, the flow in the waterways had remained stable in the past 24 hours.

It added that there was low-level flooding in the Indus River at Kalabagh, Chashma, and Taunsa waterworks, with water flow being recorded at 334,000 cusecs at Kalabagh, 370,000 cusecs at Chashma and 313,000 cusecs at Taunsa around 6am.

In the Chenab River, the flooding situation was subsiding, reaching a low-level flood at Marala, Khanki, Qadirabad, and Trimmu barrages, the authority added. At Marala, the water flow was 143,000 cusecs, 138,000 cusecs at Khanki, 135,000 cusecs at Qadirabad, and 184,000 cusecs at Trimmu as of 6am, the PDMA said.

A low-level flood also persisted in the Ravi River at the Balloki and Sidhnai headworks, with 81,000 cusecs at Balloki and 60,000 cusecs at Sidhnai, it said, adding that the water flow at Shahdara in the Ravi River remained normal.

Water flow in Sutlej and Jhelum rivers was also at normal levels, it said.

PDMA added that there was a medium flood situation in Narowal’s Basantar Nullah while a high-level flood persisted in Wazirabad’s Phalko Nullah, with a flow of 5,000 cusecs.

The PDMA statement also carried the authority director general’s appeal to citizens residing in the floodplains to immediately evacuate to safer places, adding that the provincial government had made all necessary arrangements for affected areas.

“All basic facilities and medicines will be provided in the flood relief camps,” the DG was quoted as saying.

In a separate statement, the PDMA said that 115mm of rain was recorded in Noorpur Thal, 107mm in Gujranwala, 94mm in Gujrat, 68mm in Narowal, 65mm in Mandi Bahauddin, 52mm in Sialkot Airport, 46mm in Okara, 40mm in Jauharabad and 38mm in Sargodha during the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Lahore received 37mm of rainfall, Mangla 37mm, Jhelum 32mm, Sheikhupura 28mm, Hafizabad and Kasur 27 mm, Chakwal 20mm, Bahawalnagar 18mm and Khanewal 16 mm, the spokesperson said.

“A total of 450 mm of rain was recorded in Lahore over a period of 5 days,” the statement said, adding that Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Attock, Murree and Bahawalpur also received rainfall.

According to the statement, PMDA’s control room and district emergency operation centres remain on high alert.

It also raised caution regarding the risk of flooding in rivers and canals in low-lying areas due to rain, as well as landslides in mountainous areas such as Murree. Heavy rain may also damage mud-brick houses, it added.

The authority advised citizens to contact the PDMA helpline — 1129 — in case of an emergency.

On Saturday, at least seven people, including two children, were killed and 20 others injured in rain-related incidents across Punjab.

According to PDMA, monsoon-related incidents had so far claimed 22 lives and left 183 people injured across Punjab. Meanwhile, a vast area of Punjab, covering nearly 400 square kilometres, has come under water following ongoing torrential rains.

Rain forecast

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast a fresh rainfall spell from July 29 in the upper catchments of all major rivers, Islamabad, upper Punjab, Kashmir, KP, and GB.

“No flood-generating rainfall activity is expected till July 28,” it said in an update on X.

In its daily weather outlook, the PMD also forecast scattered rain-wind/thunderstorm over the upper catchment of all major rivers, Islamabad, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan over the next 24 hours.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, it forecast rain in Abbottabad, Batagram, Buner, Chitral, Haripur, Kohat, Kohistan, Mansehra, Mardan, Nowshera, Shangla, Swabi, Swat, Tor Ghar and Dir.

In Punjab, rainfall is expected in Attock, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Chakwal, Chiniot, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Jhang, Jhelum, Kasur, Khanewal, Khushab, Lahore, Lodhran, Mandi Bahauddin, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Nankana Sahib, Narowal, Okara, Pakpattan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Toba Tek Singh and Vehari during the forecast period, according to PMD.

In Sindh, PMD forecast rain in Badin, Hyderabad, Matiari, Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tharparkar and Umer Kot.

In Balochistan, Barkhan, Duki, Kalat, Khuzdar, Kohlu, Loralai and Musakhel are expected to receive rain.

PMD added that Indus River at Kalabagh, Chasma, Taunsa, and Guddu will remain in low-level flood for the next 48 hours. ...