LAHORE: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Friday issued an alert about wind and dust storms in different areas of Punjab.

It said that the wind and dust storms would continue on May 24 (today) with a possibility of rain in Rawalpindi, Murree, Attock, Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Narowal, Faisalabad, Okara, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Khushab, Sargodha and Mianwali. There would be rain in the south Punjab areas, including Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar.

PDMA Director General Irfan Kathia said that there would be considerable decrease in the heatwave and alerts were also issued to other departments concerned. He appealed to the masses to remain alert.

Earlier, PDMA DG Mr Kathia also conducted a meeting on the Mawra Survey. Other officers of the Urban Unit and PDMA Punjab also attended the meeting.

Senior GIS Urban Unit Urooj Saeed gave a briefing to the meeting on the ongoing survey. The survey is underway around the river channels and the Indus River. The DG issued instructions to the Urban Unit of the PDMA to complete the survey by June 22.

Mr Kathia said that all major drains, including 19 very important places and 13 river channels, would be mapped and real-time data would be collected through mobile apps and information on flood trends of the last 20 years would be collected through satellite. He said that the flood mapping project would be completed in two phases.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2025