ISTANBUL

Pakistan’s central-eastern Punjab province is facing the “biggest” deluge in its history, the director general of the local disaster management authority said on Monday, amid warnings of more floods.

Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General (DG) Ali Kathia said at a news conference that more rain was expected for the upcoming two days, according to the daily Dawn.

He said floods have hit 3,100 villages and 2,900 hamlets in Punjab, affecting over 2.4 million people, adding that nearly 390 relief camps and tent cities are operating, while more than 900,000 people and 600,000 animals have been moved to safer areas.

According to a Punjab PDMA advisory, Lahore, Gujranwala, and Gujrat risk urban flooding in the next 72 hours due to expected rain.

The advisory read: “A well-marked monsoon low is present over southwest Haryana and adjoining areas, while a strong trough of a westerly wave lies over the northern parts of the country.”

The forecast warned of “widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall, along with torrential downpours… over the upper catchments of Rivers Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, and Chenab, as well as in Lahore and Gujranwala divisions, during Sept. 1 to 3.”

PDMA warned of rising river flows, predicting “very high” to “exceptionally high” floods in the Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab.

The raging floods struck the northeastern Punjab, the country's largest province and food basket, last week, killing around 50 people, submerging hundreds of villages, schools, and health centers, washing away livestock, destroying crops, and triggering evacuations.