An extremely high flood threatens to engulf Jalal­pur Pirwala, a tehsil of Multan district, as water level in the Chenab River continues to rise, prompting authorities to evacuate residents from the city with a population of 500,000.

Multan City Police Officer (CPO) Sadiq Ali Dogar said that low-lying areas of the city had been inundated and could be completely submerged by last night. He, however, assured that evacuations from most areas had been completed.

The police official stated that the water was not moving towards Head Panjnad and could submerge the entire city, and the administration had called in helicopters to rescue people from hard-to-reach areas.

A senior official, on condition of anonymity, said that the government attempted to breach a bund to divert the water, but the villagers did not allow them to do so.

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