It is said that the people living in the flood-affected areas are facing serious shortages due to lack of drinking water and water for irrigation.
What you should know
Dawn reported Sunday that Pakistan's Punjab province has been put on high alert as more than 19,000 people have been evacuated from flood-affected areas ahead of the start of a new phase of monsoon.
The Punjab government has rescued thousands of people from the banks of the Sutlej river on Saturday. Quoting spokesman Farooq Ahmed, Dawn said that more than 19,000 citizens have been evacuated from several flood-affected areas of the province.
It is said that the center of this crisis is the Sutlej river. Authorities are prioritizing rescue and evacuation efforts there.
As the new monsoon phase is approaching, it has been warned that the next 96 hours will be very important for Pakistan's Punjab.
Meanwhile, this monsoon is expected to bring heavy rains and flash floods in Gilgit-Baltistan as well. Dawn has mentioned that the continuous floods have already disrupted the life there.
It is said that the people who survived in the flood-affected areas had to face severe shortages due to lack of drinking water and water for irrigation.
Citing Israruddin Israr, Gilgit-Baltistan Coordinator of Pakistan Human Rights Commission, Dawn mentioned that about 300 families, i.e. more than 3000 people, have become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) due to the recent floods in Talidas village of Ghisar district.
According to him, the displacement in this incident is the second largest after the Attabad disaster of 2010.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the effects of severe weather are likely to continue until the beginning of September. This has increased the risk of further floods, landslides and crop damage.
Pakistan has suffered widespread devastation due to monsoons in recent years. In the unprecedented flood in 2022, more than 1,700 people lost their lives, millions of citizens were displaced and economic losses equal to about 40 billion US dollars were caused.
Pakistan usually faces floods due to monsoons from June to September. Floods cause deadly landslides, damage to infrastructure, and displacement of large numbers of people, especially in densely populated or poorly drained areas.
