ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday issued a high-flood alert for the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers after India released additional water into the tributaries.
Director General Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab (PDMA), Irfan Ali Kathia, has said the water level in the rivers of Punjab is continuously rising.
A statement from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that the River Ravi at Jassar is already in High Flood Level, and the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has detected heavy to very heavy rainfall in the upper catchments of the Ravi during the last 12 hours.
“The water combined with the downstream flows from the Madhupur Headworks (subject to releases) in India is expected to result in ‘very high to exceptionally high flood levels’ at Jassar, Shahdara, and Balloki during the next 48 hours,” NDMA said in an earlier advisory.
The PDMA said India had opened all gates of the Thein Dam on the Ravi, and 210,000 cusecs of water is entering Pakistan from Kot Ninan. In the next 24 hours, the water flow will increase further.
At Jassar, the Ravi’s flow is projected to reach 2 lakh cusecs in the next 12 hours, while Shahdara is recording 40,000 cusecs.
The districts vulnerable to the Ravi flood are Narowal, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Okara, Sahiwal, Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad, and Jhang. The authorities have cautioned citizens to stay away from rivers, drains, and low-lying areas, along with avoiding unnecessary travel.
The Flood Forecasting Division Lahore has predicted ‘very high-level flood” in the Chenab River at Khaniki, Marala, and Qadirabad.
The NDMA said that the water flow at Marala Headworks is currently at 4.6 lakh cusecs, with projections indicating a rise to 5 lakh cusecs due to continued heavy rainfall and upstream contributions.
The authorities have issued alerts across the border villages. The bridge at Degh Hanjali washed away.
The Sultej River at Ganda Singh Wala is currently flowing at 2.1 lakh cusecs, projected to rise to 2.6 lakh cusecs within the next 12 hours, an exceptionally high level, NDMA said.
Due to heavy rainfall across Gurdaspur, Batala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and adjoining downstream districts of Punjab, outflows at Harike in India are expected to exceed 2.6 lakh cusecs.
