LAHORE:
Another section of the Multan-Sukkur Motorway (M-5) near Jalalpur Pirwala has been swept away by floodwaters, deepening disruptions in southern Punjab already reeling from what officials describe as the worst flooding since 1956.
According to motorway police, the eastern track of the motorway collapsed after a breach caused by the powerful flow of the Sutlej River heading toward the Chenab. The western track had already been washed away earlier in the week.
Motorway police and National Highway Authority (NHA) staff remain at the site with heavy machinery, placing boulders in an effort to slow the water’s advance.
The M-5 has now been closed for more than a week between Multan and Jhangra. Authorities have issued a diversion plan: travelers heading from Multan to Sukkur are being redirected from Shah Shams Interchange to the National Highway and may rejoin the motorway at Uch Sharif. Vehicles coming from Sukkur toward Multan are being rerouted in reverse order. Officials stressed that patrols and road users’ officers are deployed to guide motorists.
Meanwhile, Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Girector General Irfan Ali Kathia said the flooding ranks as the most severe since 1956.
Speaking to the media, he noted that managing excessive flows in the Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi rivers simultaneously had overwhelmed defenses. At Qadirabad headworks on the Chenab, water volumes exceeded 1.05 million cusecs against a capacity of 900,000. Similar surges occurred at Sidhnai on the Ravi and in parts of the Sutlej, where water levels remained dangerously high for days.
Kathia explained that the prolonged high waters in the Chenab prevented inflows from the Ravi and Sutlej from moving downstream, forcing backflows that created breaches at several headworks. He also pointed to construction on natural waterways as a major reason why entire settlements were submerged. In southern Punjab, he said, many residents ignored early warnings, leaving authorities under intense pressure to conduct last-minute rescues.
More than 4.7 million people in Punjab have been affected by the floods, with 2.2 million evacuated to safer areas. Some 300,000 mud houses and 83,000 brick houses were damaged across 27 districts.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has announced a relief package for those affected. Families whose homes were partially damaged will receive Rs500,000, while those who lost their houses entirely will receive Rs. 1 million. Compensation for livestock ranges from Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 500,000 per animal, and farmers will be paid Rs. 20,000 per acre for destroyed crops.
