Pakistan’s southern Sindh province evacuates 100,000 over flooding threat
- Last updated: September 6, 2025 | 11:53
Authorities in southern Sindh province have evacuated more than 100,000 people from low-lying areas along the Indus river, a government spokesman said on Friday, after neighbouring India warned of cross-border flooding from dam release.
The evacuations come as rescuers mounted a major rescue and relief operation in the country’s eastern Punjab province, where flooding from weeks of monsoon rain and overflowing dams in India has displaced about 1.8 million people since August.
Since late June, monsoon flooding has killed more than 900 people across Pakistan, according to disaster officials. India notified Islamabad through diplomatic channels on Friday of the potential cross-border flooding, according to the National Disaster Management Authority or NDMA and local authorities.
Weeks of heavier-than-normal monsoon rain, compounded by water releases from dams in India, have swelled rivers in Punjab to dangerous levels.
Deluges are now moving downstream towards Sindh, where they could swell the Indus river, officials said. Currently, thousands of rescuers backed by the military are delivering food and other displaced people in Muzaffargarh and Multan districts in Punjab, where floods have inundated 3,900 villages since the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers burst their banks two weeks ago.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said in a statement that evacuations were underway in vulnerable districts, with 109,320 people already moved to safer ground as water levels in the Indus rise.
Sindh was among the worst-hit regions in the catastrophic 2022 floods, which killed 1,739 people nationwide.
The international community, including the United Kingdom and the United Nations with their partners, has stepped up to aid the flood-stricken areas by releasing funds to expedite relief efforts and enhance disaster preparedness across Pakistan.
The development comes as severe flooding continues to devastate the northern region and Punjab, with impending threats to Sindh.
Britain has announced an additional 1.2 million pounds to help the government’s coordinated response and assist communities in Sindh prepare before disaster strikes.
A British High Commission statement said that the new funding brings the UK’s total humanitarian assistance to £2.53m, providing life-saving support to over 400,000 people.
The new funds are being deployed to non-governmental organisations in Sindh to enable early warning systems, community evacuations, pre-positioning of essential supplies and the protection of livestock.
“Sindh is in a critical window to prepare and reduce the impact of the upcoming floods,” British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said.
“For every dollar spent on prevention, up to seven dollars are saved in response. More importantly, lives are saved, and destruction is avoided.”
This aid complements £1.33m announced on Aug.22 for early response and relief efforts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. That support includes providing dry food rations, search and rescue operations, mobile medical camps and restoring irrigation channels.
Additionally, the UK has contributed £500,000 to the Start Ready Disaster Risk Financing system in Pakistan.
The funds have been released to reach 20,000 people across Punjab, Sindh and KP to anticipate and mitigate humanitarian impacts from future flooding.
The United Nations and its partners are also working closely with Pakistani authorities to assess the humanitarian impact of the floods and identify needs.
Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has released $600,000 from the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund to support relief and recovery efforts, according to a statement released by the UN Information Centre in Islamabad.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his condolences and solidarity with Pakistan and commended the Pakistani authorities for relocating more than one million people in Punjab.
Tariq Butt / Agencies