GUJAR KHAN: The flash floods caused by heavy rains on the Kallar Kahar hills of Salt Range on Monday hit parts of Lillah Sharif town in the Jhelum district, damaging dozens of houses, besides washing away a link road to a nearby Esawaal town leaving the residents stranded.

A number of residential areas, including Mohallah Islamabad, were inundated, but timely measures aided by the personnel of Rescue 1122 and Saaf Suthra Punjab helped avert any loss of life.

The Rescue 1122 set up flood rescue points in the district where a number of rescue personnel have been deployed to meet any eventuality.

Talking to Dawn, District Emergency Officer Saeed Ahmed stated that preemptive measures had been taken to tackle potential flood situations and cloudburst risks. He said that all available resources and manpower of Rescue 1122 had been put on alert, and deployments were made at established posts to watch and ward vulnerable areas along Bunhan and Gahan nullahs of Jhelum.

The rescue points and posts have been established at Rasulpur, Domeli, Ghura Chaudhrian Nogran, Khurd, Darapur, and Jalalpur Sharif.

The residents of vulnerable localities have been informed to shift to safer points and places with their valuable assets, including livestock.

Mr Saeed claimed that an already on high alert force was dispatched to the affected areas to help the residents in averting further inflow into the residential areas.

According to the district emergency officer, the vulnerable localities in Jhelum district included areas around Domeli, Nagial and Jhang Khokhar.

Despite all the efforts by the rescue officials, the situation remained critical in the area till filing of this report and the authorities were working to mitigate the damage and sufferings of the thousands of the affected people.

According to Amjad Iqbal, a social media activist, the flash floods flowing down the Niromi and Neela Wahan lakes created a surge in the nullahs around Lillah Sharif town during the forenoon spell of rains.

According to Mr Iqbal, the localities of Dhoke Rajial, Dhoke Hajiyal, Dera Nasiruddin, Dhoke Mial, Dhoke Maswal, Dhoke Mahar. Government Primary School, Dera Nasiruddin, Raj Sir, Dera Dhdi, Dhoke Dhanga, Dera Macan and Government Primary School, Dera Maher, have lost direct road access to Lillah Sharif town.

Resham Khan, a native of the area, regretted that the road access of school and college going children had also been washed away due to floods.

Meanwhile, the residents expressed their serious concerns over the washing away of the link road between Lillah Sharif and Esawaal towns, claiming that they had constructed the road on self-help basis by contributing upto Rs20,000 each, and its destruction had now left them isolated. They attributed the damage to the faulty designing in the plan of Jalalpur Sharif canal, which directed the flow of flash floods towards the town.

The residents of the area urged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to order for construction of a well-designed link road with a revamped drainage system.

Sources said the deputy commissioner Jhelum sent a senior official of the canal project to the town who assured the panicked residents that after the rain spell normalised, suggestions to protect Lillah town from floods would be conveyed to higher authorities for revision.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2025