• PM asks authorities to incorporate agricultural and livestock damage too
• M-5 closed road, embankments to be reinforced since Sutlej threatens Jalpur Pirwala
• Two more villages from Sehwan flooded as Indo in ‘High flood’
LAHORE: A committee formed by the Prime Minister to take stock of flood damage on Tuesday said the initial estimates will end in ten days based on “precise and transparent field reports”, since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered separately a “comprehensive evaluation” of losses.
The Minister of Planning, Ahsan IQBAL, while presiding over the meeting, emphasized the importance of working in coordination with the provinces for a comprehensive evaluation. Provincial representatives, however, said that a final and precise evaluation would only arrive once the waters of the floods retreated, administered by the State Application reported.
Initial flood damage estimates will end in the next ten days, said Planning Minister, added that verified data would be shared soon. Ahsan Iqbal said that, like the floods of 2022, a comprehensive evaluation of the damages and requirements of the needs after disaster will be carried out with the participation of international organizations.
In a separate meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz emphasized that after the evaluation, the government could formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation strategy by making effective restoration efforts in the affected areas.
Federal and interprovincial institutions must completely cooperate with each other to evaluate these damages, the prime minister emphasized. In addition to the loss of lives and properties, it emphasized that damages to crops and livestock should also be included in evaluation reports.
He suggested that assistance from the Pakistan Space Commission and the upper atmosphere for satellite evaluation could be taken, while immediate measures must be taken to protect crops from various diseases after flooding.
He said that special measures must be taken for the cultivation of adequate crops in the areas affected by floods. The Prime Minister was informed that the damage assessment of the sugarcane, the cotton and the rice crops would be completed in two weeks once the water went back.
Sutlej threat to the Fullan district
Meanwhile, the Sutlej river continued to flood the villages of Jalpur Pirwala amid mass evacuations. While the river threatened the urban settlements of Jalpur, the Fullan district administration launched an operation to protect these neighborhoods through construction and reinforcing the protective dikes along Gilani Road and Shujaabad Road. A violation in Shujaabad Road was quickly filled with heavy machinery.
The construction of temporary embankments occurs when water levels in the Chenab river go back, which causes Sutlej water to flow into the urban settlements of the Tehsil.
Meanwhile, the Jalalpur section of the Fine-Uuc Sharif highway immersed itself in more than five locations, while the efforts were also ongoing to drain the water from the exchange of the M5 highway of Jalalpur Pirwala and the adjacent areas.
The attached commissioner of fine (DC) Waseem Hamid Sindhu visited Alipur, Khan Bela and adjacent embankments with a technical team and ordered the construction of temporary embankments to contain the flooded Sutlej.
Meanwhile, the evacuation of people continued in the districts of fine and muzaffargar and rescued 1122 teams have rescued 28,732 people and 2,998 head of cattle. Up to 9,304 people and 2,998 animals were rescued in fine and 19,428 people from the Muzaffarhh district throughout the Chenab.
Up to 34 people and 14 animals were taken to safe places in fine during the last 24 hours. The teams also evacuated 24,004 people and 4,437 animals in Jalalpur Pirwala, with 1,144 people and 607 animals during the last 24 hours.
Mansoor Ahmad Media Coordinator of Muzafargarh Rescue 1122, Mansoor Ahmad, said the rescue operation continued in the adjacent areas near Chenab and 19,428 people moved to safe places. “These areas include Bait Kundrala, Mudwala, Seetpur, Sarki, Khangarh Doma, Lati Marhi, Azmatpur, Mullanwali, Kundai, Juna Bangla, Rangpur, Muradabad, Khadkan, Binda Ishaq and Hamzaywali,” he added.
Two submerged Sehwan villages
In Sendh Sendh, two more villages submerged when 400,000 Cusecs flowed towards Korti’s bombing in the Indo. The floods cut the access of the road to these villages, cutting them from Sehwan.
Meanwhile, the residents of the Waryam Sehto and Aarab Otho villages were seen relocating their cattle and belongings to safer areas using ships. However, one of the ships did not work during evacuation. Upon receiving the alert, Rescue 1122 responded quickly and managed to rescue 35 people along with their essential livestock and household items.
According to the current situation, the water level continues to show a decreasing trend, with an entry to 609,137 CUSECs and output of 580,927 Cusecs in Guddu Barge.
In Sukkur Barge, the entrance was recorded at 571,800 CUSECs, while the exit is 518,120 Cusec. In addition, the water level showed an increase, with an input to 300,853 CUSECs and output output to 289,098 CUSECs in Kotri Barge. According to the officials, the entrance was recorded at 234,755 CUSECS, while the exit was 229,905 Cusecs in the head of Punjab (Panjnad).
Qurban Ali Khushik in Dadu also contributed to this report
Posted in Dawn, September 17, 2025
