Pakistan: Monsoon deluge swallows thousands of villages, displaces over 2.4 million

Record-shattering monsoon rains have unleashed a historic deluge across Pakistan’s Punjab, submerging over a thousand villages, displacing more than 2.4 million people, and transforming the province’s fertile plains into vast, unbroken sheets of water, with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) warning of one of the worst flood calamities in living memory.

PDMA director general Irfan Ali Kathia said on Monday, 1 September, that unyielding rains and swollen rivers have swept through Punjab with ruthless force, drowning over 3,100 villages and nearly 2,900 hamlets beneath an unending tide of floodwaters.

The devastation has sparked growing fears of food shortages and soaring inflation, as vast stretches of farmland lie underwater and ready-to-harvest crops are destroyed. The United Nations and farmers alike have sounded the alarm over the looming crisis.

Punjab, Pakistan’s largest and most fertile province, was hit hardest last week, with at least 50 lives lost, hundreds of villages and schools submerged, livestock swept away, and thousands forced to flee their homes, reported The Express Tribune.

Visiting flood-hit areas, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mo Yahya described the crisis as part of a worsening climate reality. “This isn’t normal — yet it’s becoming the new normal. Monsoons, driven by climate change, now bring fear and devastation to communities across Pakistan,” he posted on X, sharing a video of submerged rice fields in Hafizabad.

“Farmers now face months without crops or income until the next planting season. This is only the beginning—more intense rains are expected in the coming weeks. As the water flows further south, it will threaten more families with displacement and destruction,” he warned.

Authorities have raised fresh alerts as rising waters from the River Chenab are expected to reach Multan on Tuesday, merging with inflows from the River Ravi. Meanwhile, surging levels in the River Panjnad are forecast to peak by 5 September, while floodwaters from the Sutlej advance towards barrages including Suleimanki and Head Islam.

Officials also cautioned that another two days of heavy monsoon rains could disrupt ongoing relief efforts and further swell river systems. So far, at least 164 people have been killed and 582 injured across the plains of Punjab, where rainfall between 100 and 200 mm unleashed severe flooding.

With IANS inputs