The heaviest monsoon rainfall this season has been recorded in the Gujranwala and Rawalpindi divisions of Punjab, authorities said on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) headquarters in Lahore, PDMA Director General Umar Abbas said conditions in Narowal, Jhelum and Gujrat had returned to normal following recent heavy rains.

He said water flow in the Ravi and Sutlej rivers remained at normal levels, while breaches in embankments near Nullah Dek, Narowal and Sheikhupura had been repaired immediately, preventing further damage.

Abbas said the Punjab government had procured nearly 1,000 new machines for the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) under the Punjab Development Programme to improve its emergency response capacity.

He added that extensive desilting and cleaning of major drainage channels before the monsoon season had significantly reduced urban water accumulation, with waterlogging this year being nearly three times lower than during the previous monsoon.

Providing an update on casualties, the PDMA chief said 22 people had been killed and 183 injured in rain-related incidents across Punjab during the current spell of monsoon rains.

He said the provincial government was also working to upgrade the ageing electricity distribution system to minimise weather-related disruptions.

Abbas added that authorities had launched operations to remove encroachments from riverbeds and construct protective embankments along vulnerable sections to strengthen flood protection measures across the province.