Over 120,000 evacuated from central Pakistan as floods leave survivors in scorching heat
JALALPUR PIRWALA, Pakistan — Rescuers backed by the military evacuated nearly 100,000 people overnight from a central Pakistani city, some of whom described enduring scorching heat in tents and open areas after floodwaters submerged their homes and swept away farmland.
In the past 24 hours, more than 122,000 people have been moved from Jalalpur Pirwala, a city in eastern Punjab province, said Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority. Many sought shelter with relatives while others were staying in relief camps, he said.
In flooded districts, most said they received little or delayed aid. The government insists it was carrying out rescue and relief operations simultaneously and that truckloads of supplies are sent daily.
Flooding triggered by weeks of torrential monsoon rains, cloudbursts and water releases from dams in neighboring India has displaced 2.2 million people across Punjab since last month, Kathia told reporters.
At least 61 people have died in flood-related incidents since last month. Kathia said Multan, another key city in Punjab, was still at risk of flooding as levels in the rivers continued to rise. Preparations were underway to carry out controlled breaches of embankments to divert water toward rural areas to protect cities, he said.
“We were able to save many lives through timely evacuations, though some people refused to leave until the water reached their villages,” he said. He added that thermal imaging drones were used to locate survivors.
Zarini Bibi, 45, fled her flooded village near Jalalpur Pirwala by boat with her children.
“I saw doomsday in the shape of this flood,” she said. “My home, which was my dream and my heaven, is now under water. I barely escaped with my children, and everything we owned has been destroyed.”
She said she was left with only the clothes on her back, and was now living in a camp under sweltering heat and with little donated food. “It feels like we have become beggars,” she said.
Another displaced resident, Tariq Ullah, said his relatives refused to host him, and he and his family were now living in a roadside tent.
“Thank God our lives were saved. A house can be rebuilt, but life is given only once,” he said, adding that a local political party, Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, was helping provide aid to families like his.
An Associated Press reporter who reached Daryapur village near Jalalpur Pirwala by an evacuation boat saw dozens of people stranded on the rooftops of homes submerged under several feet of water. They were later evacuated by rescuers.
Emergency services official Muhammad Bilal said rescuers in boats had moved thousands of people to safety over the past two days, and that about 70% of evacuations from nearby villages had been completed.
Military helicopters were also dropping relief supplies on the outskirts of Jalalpur Pirwala, where floodwaters rose so quickly that many residents had little time to flee.
Floodwaters have submerged more than 3,900 villages in 26 districts since Aug. 23, Kathia said.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority, India on Tuesday again shared river data, noting that one Indian river remained at the danger mark, raising the risk of further cross-border flooding in Pakistani areas along the border.
Nationwide, monsoon flooding since late June has killed more than 900 people, according to the disaster authority. Currently nearly 80,000 people are living in relief camps across Punjab, and evacuations also took place in southern Sindh province, where more than 100,000 people were relocated last week.
Sindh was among the worst-hit regions in the catastrophic 2022 floods, which killed 1,739 people across Pakistan.
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