ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday warned that water levels in Pakistan’s major rivers are expected to rise significantly between Aug 2 and 4, prompting flood alerts across several regions and urging the public to avoid unnecessary travel to flood prone areas as heavy monsoon rains continue to intensify.
According to the NDMA’s National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC), high-level flooding has been recorded in the Lehri River at Head Gogi, while medium-level flooding is under way in Nullah Palkhu at Wazirabad.
The authority said low-level flooding continues at Kalabagh, Chashma, Guddu and Sukkur along the Indus River, as well as at Head Nari on the Nari River.
On the Chenab River, high level flows are expected at Marala, while low to medium level flows are forecast at Khanki and Qadirabad. Water levels are also expected to rise in the Jhelum, Ravi and Kabul rivers and their tributaries.
The NDMA warned that streams linked to the Jhelum, Chenab and Ravi rivers could experience medium to high flows, while water levels in the Ravi and Sutlej will depend on releases from Indian reservoirs.
The authority also cautioned about the risk of flash floods in the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur, as well as seasonal streams in central and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan.
It further warned of urban flooding and rainwater accumulation in low-lying areas of Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta and other parts of Sindh.