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GUJRAT, Sept 2: Intermittent rain during the last two days raised the water level in the river Chenab and seasonal drains in parts of Punjab, creating panic among people owing to flood threat.
The Gujrat administration on Saturday started evacuating the people to safer places and imposed an emergency due to fear of high flood in the river Chenab.
The officials were informed by the relevant department that around 400,000 cusecs of water would pass through the river around midnight due to heavy rains in the catchment areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
DCO Chaudhry Saadat Ali immediately imposed an emergency and formed six emergency centres, including those at Marri Khokharan, Shahbazpur, Kathala and Kot Sandhaia.
Rescue workers — the civil defence department officials and volunteers — were busy evacuating the people to safer places from the villages close to the river.
GUJRANWALA: Reports from Gujranwala said the district administration alerted the people of several villages by making announcements on loudspeakers as the water flow in the Chenab, Nullah Pulkho in Wazirabad and other heads kept rising till late Saturday night.
Officials in Wazirabad said some areas were at the risk of flooding and the residents had been asked to be on the guard. They said they had visited the high-risk villages to review preventive measures.
All low-lying areas submerged under knee-deep water as rain continued to fall from dawn to dusk on Saturday. People were seen draining out water from their houses and shops.
SIALKOT: Rain wreaked havoc on the city as almost all the localities were under water. Motorists as well as the people who stayed indoors faced a great deal of inconvenience.
In the morning windstorm, several hoardings and billboards were uprooted and fell on main roads.
According to reports, the railway traffic remained suspended as the tracks remained under three to four feet water.
The Sialkot meteorological office forecast more rains in both Sialkot and Narowal districts and in the catchment areas of the neighbouring occupied Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.
