Parts of Punjab, Sindh face urban flooding risk

• Tarbela, Mangla levels continue to rise amid monsoon rains• Medium-flood at Guddu and Sukkur barrages; Chenab may reach high-flood at Marala• PDMA says 45 killed in Punjab LAHORE: As the River Indus continues to flow at a medium flood level at Guddu and Sukkur barrages, water levels in the country’s major reservoirs — Tarbela and Mangla dams — have risen significantly over the past 15 days due to torrential rains in their catchment areas. According to reports issued by the Water and Power Deve­lopment Authority (Wapda), the water level at Tarbela dam increased from 1,504.31 feet on July 16 to 1,537 feet on July 31, a rise of 32.69 feet. The reservoir is now just 13 feet below its maximum conservation level of 1,550 feet. Also, the water level at Chashma Lake, which has a total capacity of 649 feet, rose to 648.50 feet on Friday from 646.80 feet on July 16. Similarly, the water level at Mangla dam rose from 1,173.20 to 1,195.55 feet over the same period, while its maximum conservation level is 1,242 feet.

Officials attributed the rise in reservoir levels mainly to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, although snowmelt also contributes significantly to filling Tarbela dam. According to the Flood Fore­casting Division (FFD) of the Met Office, the River Indus at Sukkur would remain at a medium flood level, while flows at Guddu were expected to rec­ede from medium to low flood level over the next 24 hours. It said the Jhelum, Ravi and Sutlej rivers were currently flowing below low flood level. The FFD forecast that the Chenab at Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad would fluctuate between low and medium flood levels and could reach a high flood level at Marala during the forecast period. “Medium to high flows are expected in the nullahs of the Jhelum, Chenab (Dora, Dotta, Dowara, Bhimber, Halsi, Aik and Palkhu) and Ravi (Bein, Basantar, Deg and Sakki). Urban flooding “Flash flooding is expected in the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan, streams in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan, while urban flooding is expected in Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Sargo­dha, Mandi Bahauddin, Sial­kot, Gujrat, Narowal, Lahore, Okara, Sahiwal and Faisal­abad,” the FFD report said. It also warned of urban flooding, waterlogging and prolonged ponding in Badin, Hyd­erabad, Jamshoro, Khair­pur, Matiari, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazir­abad, Suja­wal, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tharparkar, Thatta and Umerkot. According to Wapda’s daily water report issued on July 31, inflows and outflows at Tarbela on the Indus were 241,000 and 184,300 cusecs, respectively. At Mangla on the Jhelum, inflows were 45,100 cusecs and outflows 7,400 cusecs, while at Marala on the Chenab, inflows were 80,600 cusecs and outflows 66,500 cusecs. Separately, the Provincial Disaster Management Auth­ority (PDMA) Punjab issued a fact sheet on the monsoon and flood situation in Punjab, covering rainfall, river and dam conditions, damage, relief measures and precautionary advice for the public. Rainfall across Punjab According to the PDMA spokesperson, rainfall during the past 24 hours included 75mm in Attock, 67mm in Sialkot, 56mm in Joha­rabad, 46mm in Lahore, 44mm in Sar­godha, 27mm in Khushab, 21mm in Murree, 17mm in Rawalpindi, 15mm in Narowal, and 7mm each in Chiniot and Mianwali. The authority said advance planning, timely deployment of machinery and effe­ctive drainage operations enabled rainwater to be cleared quickly despite heavy rainfall, providing significant relief to residents. The spokesperson said the current spell of monsoon rains was expected to continue until Aug 5. The PDMA, district administrations and other relevant agencies remain on high alert, with continuous monitoring of rivers, dams and barrages. PDMA Director General Saif Anwar Jappa said there was a low flood situation at Kalabagh and Chashma on the River Indus. He said water storage stood at 85pc in Tarbela, 54pc in Mangla, 46pc in Thein dam, 40pc in Pong dam and 37pc in Bhakra dam. According to the PDMA report, 45 people have died and 279 have been injured in rain-related incidents across Punjab during the current monsoon season. Of the fatalities, 33 were caused by the collapse of mud and dilapidated buildings, six by drowning, four by electrocution and two by lightning strikes. Mr Jappa said the injured were being provided the best possible medical treatment and that affected families would be compensated in accordance with the Pun­jab government’s policy. He urged citizens to take precautionary measures during the monsoon, not allow children to bathe in rain drains, low-lying areas, rivers or canals, and to contact the relevant authorities immediately in case of an emergency. According to the PDMA, its control room is monitoring the situation round the clock to ensure a timely response to any emergency. Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2026