The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned the authorities of Punjab and Sindh of another flood in India. A flood wave is likely to enter Pakistan by the end of the week or early next week and may add to the woes of the flood-hit areas.
In an alert issued on Tuesday night, the NDMA has advised authorities to evacuate people from low-lying areas along the Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab rivers.
The warning has been issued following a change by the Pakatan Flood Forecasting Division (FFD). The September 13 alert said heavy rains may occur in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh (MP) and may “affect the upper catchment areas of eastern rivers (Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab) from September 17/18. “
“Flows in rivers Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab and their associated tributaries may increase,” FFD’s bulletin said.
NDMA has asked all the concerned departments especially Irrigation Department, District Administration and others to take the following steps.
At-risk communities must be warned.
A better level of alert should be maintained with monitoring of the evolving situation to reduce response time.
Rescue teams and equipment should be pre-positioned in risk areas for rapid deployment.
People living along the banks of the three rivers should be made aware of the increased risk.
According to the evacuation plans, the populations facing risks should be evacuated from the low-lying or flood-prone areas.
In case of any situation, a special situation report or update should be shared with NDMA immediately.
The three eastern rivers merge into the Indus River before entering Sindh province.
High flows in these rivers could increase the pressure on the waters of the Indus, where large parts of the land have been submerged in floodwaters for several weeks now.
