Floods in Pakistan's Punjab affect 2m

THIS IS THE BIGGEST FLOOD IN THE HISTORY OF PUNJAB, SAYS PROVINCE'S SENIOR MINISTER

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Pakistan's eastern Punjab province is dealing with the biggest flood in its history, a senior official said yesterday, as water levels of rivers rise to all-time highs.

Global warming has worsened monsoon rains this year in Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Downpours and cloudbursts have triggered flash floods and landslides across the mountainous north and northwest in recent months.

Residents in eastern Punjab have also experienced abnormal amounts of rain, as well as cross-border flooding after India released water from swollen rivers and overflowing dams into Pakistan's low-lying regions.

The senior minister for the province, Maryam Aurangzeb, told a press conference yesterday: "This is the biggest flood in the history of the Punjab. The flood has affected two million people. It's the first time that the three rivers — Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi — have carried such high levels of water."

Local authorities are using educational institutions, police, and security facilities as rescue camps, and evacuating people, including by boat, she said.

Punjab, home to some 150 million people, is a vital part of the country's agricultural sector and is Pakistan's main wheat producer. Ferocious flooding in 2022 wiped out huge swaths of crops in the east and south of the country, leading Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to warn that his country faced food shortages.

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