ISLAMABAD

At least 22 people were killed and over 1.5 million affected in massive flooding in Pakistan’s northeastern province of Punjab, with hundreds of thousands already evacuated to safer areas, authorities said on Friday.

The largest evacuation operation has been launched by the provincial government with the help of the Pakistan army to evacuate people from low-lying areas as the province is set to receive more rain from today, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Irfan Ali Kathia told reporters in Lahore.

According to Kathia, so far 22 people have lost their lives in different parts of the province, mostly in the Gujranwala division, while six people were rescued on Friday from the Babu Sabu area in Lahore when their homes were inundated by floodwaters.

Authorities also breached the Riwaz bridge in the Jhang area to protect the towns from flooding.

Footage on local TV channels showed several towns near the rivers inundated by floods, while Park View City, a luxury township located in Lahore near the Ravi River, was completely submerged in floodwaters.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) warned that water levels in the three major rivers, Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab, could rise further as more rain is expected in the upper catchment areas of the Punjab province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and other parts of the country.

"In Punjab’s northern and northeastern districts, heavy rainfall is likely on Aug. 30 and 31, which could lead to flooding," said NDMA.

The northern districts include Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Narowal, Hafizabad, and Mandi Bahauddin.

Punjab is experiencing its worst flooding in decades, with hundreds of villages submerged and more than 250,000 people displaced.

Earlier, the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was hit by heavy rains, flash floods, and a cloudburst since Aug. 14 that killed over 400 people and damaged more than 4,600 houses, including over 900 that were completely destroyed.

On Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said that all flood-affected families will receive compensation and damage assessments will be carried out once the situation stabilizes, as currently rescue and relief operations are underway.

Pakistan army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, also visited the Sialkot, Shakargarh, Narowal, and Kartarpur regions and reviewed the flood situation and ongoing rescue and relief efforts, said the military in a statement.

He also met with the Sikh community after Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur submerged a day earlier, but Munir assured them that all religious sites affected during the floods, including Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, will be completely revived to their original condition as a priority.

Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara is one of the most revered places for the Sikh community, as it hosted Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, for 18 years.

Pakistani authorities also sent the army to Punjab on Wednesday to help with rescue and relief efforts, after New Delhi warned Islamabad about expected high inflows in the Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab rivers.

India and Pakistan have been battered by relentless monsoon rains and flooding in recent weeks, with over 500 people killed in Pakistan since Aug. 14, mostly over 400 in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and over 820 killed across Pakistan since June 26.