Heavy monsoon rains have killed three people and injured three others in rain-related incidents across Punjab, as authorities warn of urban flooding in several cities on Tuesday with river flows pushing Tarbela Dam close to its maximum capacity.
A loss and damage report issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) recorded that a man has died and another has been injured after a house collapsed in Uch Sharif in Bahawalpur district, while two children drowned in Khushab. Two more people sustained injuries in separate roof collapses in Mandi Bahauddin and Lodhran, while a house was damaged in Bahawalpur, the report added.
The Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) of the Pakistan Meteorological Department has flagged the possibility of water accumulation in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Faisalabad, Multan, Sahiwal, Okara, Bahawalnagar, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, the Potohar region, Peshawar and Nowshera.
The department also cautioned that hill torrents and local streams in Kashmir, Murree, Galiyat, northeastern Punjab, Islamabad, the Potohar region, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Dera Ghazi Khan could see flash flooding, with medium to high flows expected in nullahs connected to the Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi rivers.
Officials warned of similar flash flood risks in the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan, streams across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Kabul River and its tributaries, and northern Balochistan and flagged landslide risks in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts including Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Buner, Battagram, Mansehra, Shangla and Abbottabad, along with Murree, Galiyat and hilly parts of Azad Kashmir.
The FFD noted that the Indus River at Kalabagh, Guddu and Sukkur, along with the Ravi at Balloki, are currently flowing at low flood level and called on relevant authorities to stay alert and take precautionary steps against possible rain-related emergencies. This forecast follows an earlier warning issued by the department on Saturday for heavy to very heavy rainfall across Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan until August 4.
WAPDA’s daily water report showed that the Indus at Tarbela recorded inflows of 250,700 cusecs and outflows of 191,900 cusecs on Monday, while the Kabul River at Nowshera registered inflows and outflows both at 43,700 cusecs.
Jhelum at Mangla recorded inflows of 44,700 cusecs against outflows of 7,000 cusecs and the Chenab at Marala saw inflows of 85,900 cusecs and outflows of 69,900 cusecs. Tarbela Dam’s water level climbed to 1,543 feet, seven feet short of its maximum conservation level of 1,550 feet, with live storage reaching 5.178 million acre-feet.
Mangla Dam stood at 1,199.35 feet, about 42 feet below its maximum conservation level of 1,242 feet, holding live storage of 4.193 MAF (Million Acre Feet), while the Chashma Reservoir neared capacity at 648.50 feet against a maximum of 649 feet.
