Evacuations continue amid high level of flooding in Pakistan’s Sutlej River





River turned raging at Ganda Singh Wala and Islam Headworks dams, authorities say

Hundreds of lifeboats and personnel were mobilized to assist authorities in the rescue effort.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistani state media reported that rescuers continued to evacuate people from vulnerable areas in Pakistan's Punjab province amid severe flooding in the Sutlej River on Saturday.


This river that flows through northern India and Pakistan has seen its water levels rise dramatically after New Delhi released hundreds of thousands of cusecs from reservoirs due to the ongoing monsoon.


Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said the river had turned ferocious at the Ganda Singh Wala dam and the Islam waterworks, threatening Kasur, Okara, Bahawalnagar, Pakpattan and Vehari districts.


Relocating residents from vulnerable areas to safer locations continues, with officials traveling to flood-affected areas to review relief operations.


The official news agency APP quoted Deputy Commissioner (DC) Omer Jahangir as saying: "The district government will provide all possible relief measures to people in the areas affected by the floods.
" DC Jahangir was accompanied by City Police Officer (CPO) Mansoor-ul-Haq Rana, who reviewed the rescue operations carried out by the police.


"The police and the county government are moving people to safety," Rana said.
“Every possible resource is used to protect the lives and property of the masses.
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Pakistan is currently experiencing monsoon rains that started at the end of June.
According to the NDMA, downpours have caused flash flooding in some areas and claimed the lives of 213 people this year.


Authorities evacuated about 250,000 people to safer locations and mobilized hundreds of lifeboats and personnel to assist authorities in their rescue efforts.
The rains are back a year after heavy weather-induced downpours caused rivers to rise and inundated a third of the South Asian country, killing 1,739 people.
Floods also cost a cash-strapped Pakistan $30 billion by 2022.