LAHORE   -  Punjab Health Minister and Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Disaster Management Khawaja Salman Rafique announced on Friday that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had established flood relief camps in anticipation of potential flooding.

The announcement was made during his visit to the PDMA Head Office here. He highlighted the risk of flooding due to recent rains in the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountains, which could lead to rising water levels in rivers and mountain streams. He assured the public that the situation is being closely monitored around the clock in the Epidemic and District Control Rooms, and that prompt measures will be taken to protect lives. He also urged the public to take necessary precautions during the rainy season.

During his visit, he reviewed various schemes aimed at preventing river erosion. He also toured the PDMA control room to assess the rain situation across the province. DG PDMA, Irfan Ali Kathia, provided a comprehensive briefing on the current weather conditions and the safety measures in place. The meeting also included a detailed review of the water levels in Punjab’s rivers, dams, and barrages, all of which are currently reported to be normal. The situation of rivers in Dera Ghazi Khan was also thoroughly discussed.

Member of the Punjab Assembly, Ghulam Abbas Gormani, also attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, The Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) Lahore has predicted that monsoon activity to intensify in the upper catchments of all major rivers of Indus River System (IRS) after 48 hours. According to daily report, moderate rainfall activity with isolated heavy falls is likely to commence over the upper catchments of all the major rivers from Monday (July 22). Currently, all major rivers including Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sultej are flowing normal with no riverine floods. The major reservoirs (Tarbela, Chashma and Mangla) are about 62 per cent filled with 38 per cent of their capacity remaining to reach their maximum conservation levels.