NAROWAL: One hundred and thirty-seven people were rescued from the floodwater of the Ravi River in the Narowal area where thousands of acres of agricultural land has been submerged by the high-level flood after India released water into the Ravi. People have started shifting to safer places after the Ravi and rainwater drains of Auj, Bayan and Dek inundate villages.
On Tuesday, a woman died and more than 15 people were injured when roofs and walls of houses collapsed due to heavy rain. Rescue 1122 identified the woman as an 80-year-old woman, Sardar Bibi, a resident of Lakhnoor Amrial village, while the injured included Abdul Rehman, Muhammad Dawood, Ayesha Nasir, Shamim Akhtar, Bilal, Muhammad Aslam, Munir Ahmed, Muhammad Shahbaz who were buried under the debris of roofs and walls.
According to the irrigation department, the Ravi River has a capacity of 150,000 cusecs of water while it is flowing at 155,000 cusecs at Kot Nain in tehsil Shakargarh. The rainwater drain Auj is flowing at 56,000 cusecs while rainwater Bayan has 25,446 cusecs. Rainwater Dek is flowing at a flood level of 63,762 cusecs. All three of them have high-level flooding.
District Emergency Officer Engineer Muhammad Aurangzeb told Dawn that rainwater from drains of Auj, Bayan and Dek had entered the crop fields while the citizens were facing difficulties due to the continuous heavy rainfall for the past 24 hours and they had started shifting to safer places.
137 rescued; one dies, 15 injured in roof, wall collapses during 24-hour rain
“The rescue control room received emergency calls for help from the villages, including Pachwalian, Talwandi Bhindran, Mardwal, Nadala, Lakhnoor Amrial, Darhiwal, Sajuwal, Pir Kandhala, Jarmian Singha, Madu Gol, Dawood Bhanian, Lahri and Sikmal as well as from four different places along the Pakistan-India Border,” Mr Aurangzeb said and added that the callers informed about people being trapped in the high level flood and the rescue teams carried out rescue operations using boats, life jackets, life rings and other equipment. He said that during the rescue operation, more than 120 people were rescued and shifted to safer places.
Mr Aurangzeb said the rescuers rescued animals, including dozens of goats, trapped in the floodwater and shifted them to safer places.
Farmers Muhammad Yaqub and Sharafat Hussain said thousands of acres of agricultural land had been submerged by the flood that caused severe damage to the rice crop and animal fodder. The floodwater entered the animal shelters and the homes of the citizens. The markets and streets of Narowal, Shakargarh and Zafarwal were inundated by about two feet of water.
Narowal Deputy Commissioner Syed Hassan Raza, Engineer Muhammad Aurangzeb DEO Rescue, officials of the irrigation department and other officers visited the weak protective embankments of the Ravi and rainwater drains. The DC has ordered the department to strengthen the weak protective barriers on a priority basis.
The Hanjali Bridge connecting Zafarwal and Sialkot was washed away by the floodwater while roads, rails and bridges were damaged in the Narowal area. The villages, including Kot Nina, Fatehpur, Bara Manga, Walipur, Kotla and Fatochak, have been flooded. They have been disconnected. The small bridge connecting the village Junday Langah, Ali Langah and more than a dozen of villages in Shikargarh tehsil has been broken.
In Chiniot, the district disaster management authority directed the people in low-lying areas to evacuate as the Chenab River water level is increasing. As flood is expected to hit the Chiniot area on Tuesday night, an emergency meeting with Deputy Commissioner Safiullah Gondal in chair directed the departments to maintain attendance of their personnel at flood relief camps in parts of districts.
It is worth mentioning that the farmers have set up farmhouses and built houses in low-lying areas to keep their cattle and grow crops on the banks of the Chenab. About 500-1000 people have been shifted to safer places from these areas along with their cattle and valuables on self help basis.
(Aurangzeb Malik from Chiniot also contributed to this report)
Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2025