The next 24 hours are being considered dangerous for the Islam headworks in Hasilpur tehsil, where the Sutlej river is flowing in high flood.

In Vehari, a breach has occurred in the protective embankment of the Sutlej River, causing flooding in areas, including Khichi, and severing land communication. Evacuation of people is underway from the affected areas.

Meanwhile, explosives have been placed at the Head Muhammadwala and Sher Shah points of the Chenab River to create breaches.

A breach has also been made in the protective embankment of Burewala.

To save the city of Kasur, the RRA-1 embankment has been breached. At Head Balloki, extremely high-level flooding continues at 211,000 cusecs.

The Ravi River was flowing in high flood at Shahdara, where the water flow reached 129,000 cusecs.

The strong flow of water caused a breach in the embankment of a mini dam in the Domeli area of Dina tehsil in Jhelum district, causing water to enter homes.

At least 15 people have been rescued from Manga Mandi and Malhi village.

A very high level of flood has also been witnessed at Ganda Singh Wala in the Sutlej River. Meanwhile, the water level at Islam headworks has decreased.

Water flow rises in Indus River

The water level in the Indus River has begun to rise, where a low-level flood situation persists.

According to barrage officials, water inflow at Sukkur Barrage increased by 31,000 cusecs over the past 24 hours.

The officials reported that the inflow at Sukkur Barrage was recorded at 315,172 cusecs, while the outflow stood at 260,512 cusecs.

PDMA briefing

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Director-General of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Irfan Ali Kathia, has said that rescue and relief operations for flood victims were underway.

According to the PDMA DG, 303,000 cusecs of water is passing through Ganda Singh Wala. The Pakistan Army and district administration evacuated 20 villages overnight.

Villages located near the Sutlej River have been evacuated as the floodwater is moving toward Head Sulemanki, he added.

He warned that the next 24 hours are dangerous for the Islam headworks.

On Friday, the Punjab government deliberately breached the Rewas Bridge to manage the flow of water and to prevent damage to the structure.

Meanwhile, water pressure is increasing at Trimmu headworks, and a flood wave of 900,000 cusecs will pass through Jhang on Sunday morning between 6am and 9am.

At Head Muhammad Wala, a flow of 700,000 cusecs is expected to reach Multan, where breaching may be required.

The PDMA DG said that 175,000 cusecs of water was passing through Marala headworks.

The PDMA DG further said that 900,000 cusecs of water is expected to pass through the Guddu Barrage on Sunday.

30 dead, over 1.5 million affected: Maryam Aurangzeb

Senior Punjab Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said that the death toll from floods in Punjab has reached 30, while 1,516,603 people have been affected.

In a media briefing, she stated that more than 481,000 people have been moved to safe places.

Floodwaters from three rivers have affected a total of 2,038 villages — including 1,169 by the Chenab, 462 by the Ravi, and 391 by the Sutlej, she added.

The senior minister said that 511 relief camps and 351 medical camps were providing round-the-clock assistance to the victims.

Currently, 6,373 people are staying in relief camps, while over 400,000 livestock have been shifted to safer places.

In the last 36 hours alone, 68,477 people have been rescued, she added.

She noted that due to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s preventive measures and anti-encroachment operations, Punjab was spared heavy loss of life despite the scale of the floods.

After the relief and recovery phase, an operation to eliminate encroachments will be launched, she said, adding that a comprehensive strategy will be devised in light of the lessons learned from the current floods.