Sindh ‘fully mobilized’ for major flood wave as 1.6m people, 1,600 villages at risk: Memon

• Sindh Information Minister govt deployed 192 rescue boats, set up 300 livestock camps, besides a round-the-clock monitoring cell
• CM Murad orders 500 relief camps, Navy on standby with 26 boats for evacuation
• NDMA warns of 900,000–1.2m cusecs floodwater moving from Punjab into Sindh

KARACHI: Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon on Saturday said the provincial government was “fully mobilized” to deal with looming flood threats converging towards country’s Southern part, where nearly 1.6 million people and more than 1,600 villages are at risk.

The deluge, triggered by record monsoon rains and excess water released from upstream India, has already created crisis conditions in Punjab province since Monday. The trans-boundary Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers have inundated about 2,300 villages across the province, leaving at least 30 people dead.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) warned a day earlier that extreme flooding was likely in downstream Sindh, with massive flood waves between 900,000 and 1.2 million cusecs expected to pass through barrages in Punjab and Sindh over the next few days.

Addressing a news conference in Karachi, Memon said floodwaters were expected to reach Sindh “on the night of September 2 or 3.”

“A provincial Rain and Flood Emergency Monitoring Cell has been set up, which will remain operational round the clock,” he said. “At present, 192 rescue boats and mobile health units have been deployed. As many as 1.65 million people, 1,651 villages, and 167 union councils could potentially be affected, with an estimated 273,000 families at risk.”

The minister said residents of vulnerable areas were being moved to safer locations, adding that most had voluntarily evacuated from riverine belts. “Three hundred camps have also been set up for livestock,” he noted. “Continuous monitoring of water levels is underway.”

Memon emphasized that there was no shortage of funds for flood relief, while Punjab was also assisting with relief kits.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah convened an emergency meeting on Friday to review the forecasts, directing all departments to stay on high alert. “In case of a major flood wave, not a single life—human or animal—should be lost,” he told officials, instructing the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to establish over 500 relief camps and coordinate with the Pakistan Navy, which has 26 boats on standby.

Since June 26, monsoon rains and flash floods have killed at least 830 people and injured more than 1,120 nationwide, according to official statistics. Authorities warn the threat could intensify in the coming days, with the current monsoon spell expected to continue until at least September 10. Officials fear the situation may rival the devastating 2022 floods, which killed over 1,700 people and caused more than $30 billion in damage.