At least 178 people have been killed across Pakistan in the past three weeks as relentless monsoon rains inundate towns, destroy homes, and displace thousands.
Officials say at least 63 people died in Punjab alone in just 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday, most of them crushed under collapsing buildings, while others drowned or were electrocuted.
The death toll includes more than 85 children, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.
On Thursday, Rawalpindi, a city adjacent to the capital Islamabad, declared a public holiday, asking residents to stay indoors and urging evacuations along the riverbanks as water levels surged.
A state of emergency has also been declared in several parts of Punjab, where floodwaters have swept through urban centres like Lahore and Sargodha and forced military deployment in the worst-hit districts.
In Chakwal, which recorded 400mm of rain in a single day, rescue boats were seen navigating through submerged neighbourhoods.
Videos shared by Punjab’s disaster agency showed children being carried to safety in inflatable rafts, and army helicopters circling overhead in search of stranded families.
Mahar Hammad, a vegetable vendor in Sargodha, told CNN that the flood destroyed both his home and his livelihood.
“I’ve had huge losses. Everything got submerged in water. I work all day just to earn 1,000 rupees ($4), and even that now goes into losses,” he said.
A family in Rawalpindi had to be airlifted by military helicopter after they were trapped on the roof of their home. In Jhelum, flash floods triggered by a cloudburst led to rapid evacuations by boat.
Pakistan’s meteorological department said the country has received 82 per cent more rainfall this July compared to the same period last year. In Punjab, rainfall was 124 per cent above normal between 1 and 15 July, with Seosan experiencing a rare cloudburst that poured nearly 115mm in just one hour.
Dozens of expressways in Punjab have been shut, with flights cancelled or delayed at several airports. Schools and nurseries in the most affected regions have also been closed.
The NDMA has warned that further extreme weather is likely, with heavy rainfall forecast for Islamabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir and parts of Balochistan and Sindh through the weekend.
Thousands of emergency personnel remain on standby, and at least seven relief camps have been set up to provide food, shelter and medicine.
Authorities have warned they cannot rule out a repeat of extreme weather like the 2022 floods that inundated a third of the country, killing 1,737 people.
“This is not just ‘bad weather’ – it’s a symptom of an accelerating climate crisis,” Pakistani senator and former climate minister Sherry Rehman posted on X.
“How many more wake-up calls before we build real resilience and readiness into our urban planning?”
Floods have been wreaking havoc all across South Asia, with dozens swept away in Nepal and landslides and floods killing dozens in India. A total of 109 deaths were recorded between 20 June and 16 July 16 in India’s Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh.
Pakistan is home to over 7,000 glaciers feeding the Indus basin, but accelerated melting caused by the climate crisis has dramatically increased flash flood risks.
