By Krishna Dua 
Historic Floods Wreak Havoc in Pakistan’s Punjab, Leaving 2 Million Affected
LAHORE – In a catastrophe of historic proportions, unprecedented monsoon floods have swept through Pakistan’s Punjab province, leaving a trail of destruction that has affected over two million people. The deluge, triggered by exceptionally heavy rainfall and coordinated water releases from dams in upstream India, has overwhelmed the mighty rivers of the region—the Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi—all of which are in high flood simultaneously for the first time in nearly four decades. The latest reports confirm a death toll of 33, but officials warn this number is likely to climb as rescue teams struggle to reach thousands of stranded families in remote, submerged villages.
The disaster has laid bare the vulnerabilities of Pakistan’s agricultural heartland to the increasing unpredictability of climate change. The sprawling plains of Punjab, known as the “breadbasket of Pakistan,” now lie under a vast, murky sheet of water, with entire villages and vast swathes of farmland submerged. The economic fallout is expected to be staggering, with vital crops like cotton, rice, and wheat either destroyed or on the verge of ruin. The crisis has plunged an already fragile economy into further jeopardy and triggered a massive humanitarian emergency, with an urgent need for shelter, clean water, and medical aid.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has described the floods as an emergency of an unparalleled scale. Irfan Ali Kathia, the Director General of the Punjab PDMA, stated that nearly 2,200 villages have been impacted. “Our teams are working round the clock to evacuate people, but the sheer volume of water and the inaccessibility of many areas are major challenges,” he said in a press briefing. “We have evacuated more than 760,000 people and rescued countless livestock, but many more are still in need of help. The scale of this disaster is beyond anything we have seen in decades.”
A Cataclysmic Confluence of Rivers
The roots of this catastrophic flood lie in a rare meteorological and hydrological event. The monsoon rains, intensified and made more erratic by climate change, led to dangerously high water levels in the rivers that flow from the Himalayas and enter Pakistan’s Punjab. This was compounded by India’s decision to release a massive volume of water from its dams to manage their own flood risk, sending an unprecedented surge downstream. The confluence of high flows in the Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi rivers created a perfect storm of floodwaters.
The Sutlej River, in particular, has been in an “exceptionally high flood” category, causing the most significant damage in districts like Kasur and its low-lying areas. Villages near the riverbeds were the first to be inundated, giving residents little time to react. Many were forced to climb onto rooftops or flee to the nearest piece of high ground, often with little more than the clothes on their backs. The floodwaters also submerged a historical and revered site, the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, a significant pilgrimage site for the Sikh community, which serves as a poignant symbol of the deluge’s indiscriminate power.
The aftermath is a scene of utter despair and chaos. The air is thick with a nauseating mixture of silt, debris, and stagnant water. In the village of Kamanwala, a small community near Sialkot, residents recounted the horrifying moments when the water surged into their homes. “The water came so fast; it was like a tsunami,” said Saleem Ahmed, a 45-year-old farmer who lost his entire season’s crop of wheat. “We barely managed to save ourselves and our children. Everything we owned is gone. Our grains, our tools, our livestock—all are gone. We have nothing left.” His tearful testimony is a common refrain among the displaced.
The Unseen Humanitarian Crisis
Beyond the visible destruction of homes and infrastructure, a silent humanitarian crisis is unfolding in relief camps and on higher ground. The affected population, a mix of farmers, laborers, and their families, now faces an immediate threat of water-borne diseases. With sanitation systems destroyed and sources of clean drinking water contaminated, medical professionals are bracing for an outbreak of cholera, typhoid, and skin infections.
“We have set up over 350 medical camps across the affected districts, but the need is far greater than our capacity,” said Dr. Faraz Khan, a senior physician working with a local charity in a relief camp near Narowal. “The number of patients with gastric problems, diarrhea, and fever is rising alarmingly. We are also seeing a lot of snake bite cases as the snakes are flushed out of their habitats by the floodwaters. The conditions are grim, and we need more resources and manpower immediately.”
The lack of access to clean water has forced many to drink contaminated floodwater, further accelerating the spread of disease. While government and army teams are distributing bottled water and food rations, the distribution is uneven, and many stranded families have reported going days without any assistance. The Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has declared a health emergency in all hospitals across the province and has directed officials to expedite the provision of medical care and relief supplies. “No displaced person should be without food and medical help,” she stated in a recent meeting, acknowledging the gravity of the situation.
Economic Devastation and the Road to Recovery
The floods could not have come at a worse time for Pakistan’s economy. The country has been battling a high inflation rate, and this disaster is expected to push food prices even higher. The agricultural sector, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the country’s GDP and employs a large portion of the population, has taken a massive hit. The fields of cotton, a key cash crop, have been completely submerged, and there are significant fears about the fate of the rice, maize, and sugarcane crops. The devastation of these staple crops will not only affect local food security but will also impact Pakistan’s ability to export, further straining its foreign reserves.
According to a preliminary report by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the economic losses are expected to be in the billions of dollars. The Chairman of the NDMA, Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, highlighted the systemic nature of the problem. “This is not just a flood; it is a climate crisis,” he said. “We have to move from a reactive approach to a proactive one. We need to build more resilient infrastructure and develop better early warning systems. The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already emphasized the need for better flood control and water storage solutions.”
The government has launched a relief fund and is providing financial aid to the families of the deceased and those who have lost their homes. However, for a country with limited fiscal space, the task of reconstruction and rehabilitation will be an uphill battle. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have offered emergency grants, but the long-term recovery will require a monumental effort from both the government and the international community.
As the floodwaters begin to recede in some areas, the long and arduous process of recovery is just beginning. The full extent of the damage to crops, livestock, and infrastructure will take weeks to assess. For the millions of affected people, the journey back to normalcy will be long and difficult. The historic floods of 2025 serve as a grave reminder of the urgent need for a coordinated national and international effort to address the growing threat of climate change and to build a more resilient future for the vulnerable population of Pakistan