Pakistan Blows Up Dam Embankment As Floods Drench Punjab Province, 'Exceptionally High' Flooding Alert Issued

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Amid an“exceptionally high” flooding alert, the Pakistani authorities have blown up an embankment next to a monsoon-engorged dam as flooding submerged Punjab province in the country.

At least three transboundary rivers in the east of the country have swollen to exceptionally high levels as a result of heavy rains across the border in India. As a result, flood alerts have been sounded across the Punjab province.

With multiple flood alerts, the Pakistani authorities have also deployed the Army to help evacuate people and livestock near Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers.

Around 210,000 people had moved to another location , according to disaster management authorities. At the Qadirabad dam on the Chenab River, authorities carried out a controlled explosion of an embankment on Wednesday as the water levels rose.

“To save the structure, we have breached the right marginal embankment so that the flow of the water reduces,” Mazhar Hussain, a spokesperson for Punjab's disaster management agency, was quoted as saying by AFP.

A video, reportedly showing the blast at the Qadirabad dam on the Chenab River, has surfaced. Mint could not independently verify the authenticity of the blast video.

The blast at the Qadirabad dam on the Chenab River has come when Punjab province and Lahore have been facing a“very high to exceptionally high” danger of flooding due to heavy rains.

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RAINS WREAK HAVOC IN PAKISTAN

At least 25 people have died and hundreds have been displaced by severe flooding across the Punjab province as the monsoon continues to wreak havoc in Pakistan.

In Sialkot's Sambarial area, five members of a single family perished. The Gujranwala division reported 15 deaths, while Gujrat confirmed four fatalities, Narowal three, and Hafizabad two

Floodwaters have submerged hundreds of villages in Kasur, Narowal, and Pindi Bhattian, displacing thousands of residents. In Chiniot and Wazirabad, floodwater from the Chenab River inundated dozens of villages, ARY News reported.

Earlier, India had alerted Pakistan about a potential flood in the Tawi River in a goodwill gesture toward its neighbouring country.

(With agency inputs)

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