Lahore: With river levels rising to dangerous highs and major dams nearing full capacity, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned that the coming weeks could bring further devastation.
Issuing an emergency alert, the authority noted that areas of Punjab have been inundated by its seventh monsoon wave, submerging villages and farmland in Kasur, Bahawalnagar and Narowal.
Floodwaters breached protective embankments, destroying crops and forcing mass evacuations. Rescue workers deployed boats to ferry stranded residents to safety, while emergency camps provided food, tents and blankets. Officials also warned that additional water releases from India’s Harike Headworks could aggravate flooding downstream.
With 164 deaths already reported in Punjab – including at least 70 children – authorities are preparing for what could be the province’s most severe flooding in years.
“This is one of the deadliest monsoon seasons in years,” the NDMA said in its latest advisory.
Scattered showers were reported across Lahore in the evening after a hot and humid day with partly cloudy skies.
The Met Office warned that heavy rains may trigger flash floods in streams of Pothohar, Dera Ghazi Khan and Koh-e-Suleman.
News Published in Express Tribune on August 19, 2025.
