Flooding in Sheikhupura district has affected 94 villages, damaged 1,215 houses and inundated 43,188 acres of land. Authorities say evacuations and relief work are continuing, even as water levels begin to recede in some areas.
LAHORE: Flooding in parts of Sheikhupura district has affected 94 villages, damaged 1,215 houses and submerged 43,188 acres of land, as rescue and relief work continued in Ferozewala, Muridke and Kala Shah Kaku.
A Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority report said 738 people and 46 livestock had been evacuated, while 13 relief camps were set up for affected families. More than a dozen medical camps and mobile clinics treated 1,633 patients, and 4,085 ration bags were distributed in the flood-hit areas.
The flooding along the Lahore-Gujranwala stretch of GT Road has persisted for several days after the Bhed and Deg nullahs overflowed, inundating rural and semi-urban settlements. Rescue 1122 deployed seven dewatering sets and municipal committees added 25 more as authorities worked to drain standing water.
Officials said conditions had begun to improve on Thursday as water levels in the affected nullahs receded. An irrigation official warned, however, that if heavy rain arrives over the next four to five days as forecast by the Met Office, the situation could again become dangerous.
A Lahore division administration official said water had fallen in major localities including Pathan Colony, Noorpur and Rahim Colony. The official added that Lahore Commissioner Nauman Yousaf and the Sheikhupura deputy commissioner were visiting the affected areas daily and reviewing the response with officers from different departments at the Ferozewala Municipal Committee.
Authorities also expanded the rescue operation by sending more boats to neighbourhoods and villages that remained under water after the nullahs breached their banks. Police were deployed to protect residents and their property.
Residents said access to official help had improved. Waseem Khan, a resident of Pathan Colony, said, “Yes, the government has reached us well with the expansion of the operation. Now the area has more boats to rescue people. We are also being given food and dry fruits.” He added that water in the nullah and the village had dropped to one to two feet and standing water inside homes had also reduced.
Rivers and nullahs remain under watch
In its latest flood outlook, the Flood Forecasting Division said the Indus would remain at medium flood at Guddu Barrage for up to 36 hours before reaching a similar level at Sukkur Barrage over the next 24 hours.
The division said the Chenab was likely to fluctuate between low and medium flood at Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad, and could flow in high flood at Marala in the coming days. It said water levels in the Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum, Sutlej and Kabul rivers had fallen considerably and were below the low flood threshold.
The Flood Forecasting Division nevertheless warned of medium-to-high-level flows in the nullahs of Jhelum, Chenab — including Dora, Dotta, Dowara, Bhimber, Halsi, Aik and Palkhu — and Ravi, including Bein, Bassanter, Deg and Sakki.
