The Director General of PDMA Punjab, Irfan Ali Kathia, has warned that a major flood surge will pass near Lahore tonight, raising concerns for low-lying areas along the Ravi River.
During a media briefing, Kathia said the water flow at Jassar on the Ravi River is nearly 240,000 cusecs. The surge is expected to reach Shahdara near Lahore between 10 PM and midnight, passing Head Buloki by 9 AM tomorrow.
He added that Shahdara can safely handle up to 250,000 cusecs of water, with approximately 190,000 cusecs expected to pass through tonight. He noted that such high water levels haven’t been seen in nearly 38–39 years.
Kathia explained that record rainfall caused the Chenab River flow to jump from 80–90 thousand cusecs to 900,000 cusecs in just a few hours. Fortunately, the surge has passed Head Marala without causing any damage to the structure.
Currently, the Chenab is flowing at 675,000 cusecs past Head Marala, with water moving safely through Khanki. Kathia assured that the river’s structures are intact and can handle the coming hours of heavy flow.
Meanwhile, the Sutlej River has experienced high flood levels for the past 5–10 days. Water has been flowing at 245,000 cusecs near Ganda Singh Wala for the last 6–8 hours, though inflows from upper catchments have decreased, reducing further rise.
To protect residents, PDMA coordinated evacuations along the three rivers, relocating around 150,000 people to safe areas. The army assisted in these operations, and despite the severe floods, Punjab has avoided major loss of life so far.