As India released more floodwater into Pakistani rivers on Monday, authorities were on high alert. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued a warning that the country was likely to experience “above average rainfall” during the current monsoon season.
When the spillway at the Ujh Barage opened at 5:30 pm, representatives of the Indian Indus Water Commission told their Pakistani counterparts that 170,000 cusecs of water had been released into the Ravi. According to Pakistani officials, the water should arrive in the nation by Monday night.
Authorities were on high alert as additional floodwater from India was pumped into Pakistani rivers on Monday. In the meantime, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned that the current monsoon season was likely to bring “above average rainfall” to the nation.
Representatives of the Indian Indus Water Commission informed their Pakistani colleagues that 170,000 cusecs of water had been released into the Ravi when the spillway at the Ujh Barage opened at 5:30 p.m. Pakistani officials believe that the water should reach the country by Monday night.
The Kathua district’s Ujh river, a tributary of the Ravi river that runs through it, is protected by the Ujh Barrage, which is situated in Jasrota village in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Through the village of Jassar in Punjab’s Narowal district, the water travels to Pakistan.
This is the second time this season that India has spilled floodwater into the rivers of Pakistan. The water was before discharged into the Chenab river. According to the Indus Water Agreement, India had to notify Pakistan in advance of any releases.
The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) both stated that the water India released into the Ravi river would enter Pakistan on the night between Monday and Tuesday (today), increasing the flows at Jassar to 70,000–100,000 cusecs.
According to the FFD, there was a moderate to high flood danger in the Ravi, which might bring flooding in the districts of Narowal, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Okara, and other places. A flood warning was also issued by the PDMA for the Ravi, which might result in flooding in the rivers at Gujranwala, Lahore, and Multan.
During the pre-monsoon and current monsoon seasons, the nation saw “above normal” rainfall, which caused floods, flash floods, and urban flooding in several regions of the nation. The wet spell was still very strong, and the rivers’ water levels were steadily rising.
The FFD stated in its daily report that severe flash flooding due to hill torrents was also anticipated in the Dera Ghazi Khan division and rivers and streams in Balochistan between August 16 and 19 while flash flooding was anticipated in the tributaries of the Kabul and Indus rivers over the next 48 hours.
The Indus is currently flowing in “medium flood” at Taunsa and “low flood” at Guddu, according to the FFD, while the other major rivers in the Indus river system—the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej—are releasing normal flows.
The Punjab administration began thinking about evacuating inhabitants from Dera Ghazi Khan division’s susceptible areas after the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a flood warning in order to protect their lives and possessions
In light of additional rains that the PMD had predicted, the administration of the capital, according to the authorities in Islamabad, had alerted the flood monitoring camps. They stated that the alarm had been issued because of the Rawal dam’s high water level due to the monsoon rainfall.
Additionally, the PMD predicted that during the following 24 hours there would be significant downpours in the districts of Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Dadu, as well as in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, and Badin. Numerous areas of the country were devastated by the monsoon rains, which also caused significant property damage. In Balochistan, where more people lost their lives on Monday, the effects of the rain and the ensuing floods were most devastating.
