Punjab has been placed on high flood alert after the Chenab River at Marala and the Jhelum River upstream of Mangla Dam registered rising levels, as Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority issued a nationwide flood, flash flood and landslide warning running through July 24 (Arab News PK; Samaa TV; Shafaqna Pakistan).
NDMA’s alert covers Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern Balochistan. The authority warned that a strong monsoon incursion interacting with an approaching westerly wave could produce rapid rises in river flows, flash flooding in hill torrents and seasonal streams, and urban flooding in low-lying city areas. Chenab flows could reach high levels at Marala; Jhelum levels upstream of Mangla were rising as of this report. Flows in the Ravi and Sutlej could increase further depending on upstream reservoir releases from India.
Authorities in Punjab have been directed to deploy emergency response teams, evacuate low-lying riverside communities and monitor drainage channels across the province. The flood alert is the first significant Punjab-focused river warning of the 2026 monsoon season; earlier warnings and casualties this season were concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.
2026 season toll
At least 47 people have died across Pakistan since the monsoon season began on June 26, with house collapses and flash floods in mountain communities accounting for most casualties. Gilgit-Baltistan has seen roads blocked and bridges damaged by torrential rains in recent days. The death toll is expected to rise as the season’s most active phase — typically mid-July through mid-August — continues.
NDMA has maintained high-alert status for emergency teams across all vulnerable provinces and is conducting daily assessments of river levels and rainfall forecasts.
