NDMA Warns Pakistan of More Deadly Floods

Islamabad – NDMA – (Special – Correspondent / Web Desk) – Heavy monsoon rains have pushed rivers across Punjab to dangerous levels, flooding villages, washing away crops, and cutting off access to multiple districts. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued an emergency alert on Sunday after forecasts predicted another powerful monsoon spell this week.

The warning comes as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) reels from catastrophic flooding that has claimed over 320 lives in recent days. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has deployed federal ministers to supervise relief operations in the hardest-hit districts.

According to the NDMA, since late June, 657 people have died and nearly 1,000 have been injured due to relentless downpours, flash floods, and landslides—making this one of Pakistan’s deadliest monsoon seasons in recent history.

Rising Death Toll and Devastation Across Provinces

• Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is the worst-affected, with over 390 deaths reported, most in Buner, Bajaur, Swat, and Shangla.
• Punjab has lost at least 164 lives, mostly children, while Sindh recorded 28 deaths, and Balochistan 20 fatalities.
• Gilgit-Baltistan reported 32 deaths, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 15, and Islamabad 8.

Flash floods and landslides have cut off entire settlements in Gilgit-Baltistan and northern K-P, hampering relief operations. The NDMA has warned that rainfall intensity could be 50–60% above normal until mid-September, with climate change blamed for worsening the crisis.

K-P faces deadly floods, rescue workers race to save lives

Fresh Monsoon Forecast and Danger Zones

The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) predicts heavy to very heavy rainfall in the coming 24 hours across:

• Northern and Upper K-P districts: Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, Dir, and Abbottabad.
• Punjab: Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Jhelum, Sialkot, and southern areas like Multan and Rajanpur.
• Sindh: Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Jacobabad, and Kashmore.
• Balochistan: Quetta, Zhob, Gwadar, Turbat, and Lasbela.
• Azad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan: Muzaffarabad, Skardu, Hunza, and Diamer.

Officials have urged citizens to avoid unnecessary travel, keep vehicles away from rivers, and stay alert to landslide risks.

Government Relief Efforts

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that the federal government is closely monitoring relief operations. Ministers have been assigned to distribute aid in Swat, Buner, Bajaur, and Mansehra.

The K-P PDMA dispatched 89 trucks loaded with tents, blankets, solar lamps, and Rs800 million in financial aid. Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur assured displaced families that destroyed houses would be rebuilt, and new settlements would be developed in safer areas.

In Punjab, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has placed all districts on high alert, especially Murree, Rawalpindi, and Koh-e-Sulaiman valleys, while banning tourist travel to Murree amid cloudburst and landslide fears.

Meanwhile, Punjab rivers, including the Sutlej, are swelling dangerously. In Kasur, 75,000 cusecs of water flooded farmland, displacing families and destroying crops. Authorities also warned of more water releases from India’s Harike Headworks, which could worsen downstream flooding.