33 killed, 7 lakh evacuated: Pakistan's Punjab faces biggest flood in history; over 2 million affected

Monsoon rains continue to cause severe flooding in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which is facing the biggest flood in its history, Associated Press reported.

Experts say global warming has made this year’s monsoon worse in Pakistan, which is highly exposed to climate change. In recent months, heavy rains and cloudbursts have led to flash floods and landslides in the northern and northwestern mountains.


According to ARY News, cited by ANI, flooding and rains have killed 33 people, hit 2,200 villages, and forced over 700,000 residents to evacuate in Pakistan's Punjab province.

Punjab’s senior minister Maryam Aurangzeb said at a press conference on Sunday: "This is the biggest flood in the history of the Punjab. The flood has affected two million people. It’s the first time that the three rivers — Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi — have carried such high levels of water."

Punjab, with about 150 million people, is a key farming area and Pakistan’s main wheat producer. Floods in 2022 destroyed large areas of crops in the east and south, prompting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to warn of food shortages.

The national weather center reported that Punjab received 26.5% more monsoon rainfall between July 1 and August 27 compared with the same period last year.

Pakistan’s disaster management authority said that since June 26, rain-related incidents have killed 849 people and injured 1,130 across the country.