Fear of moderate flood at Guddu Barrage, monitoring of rivers tightened

Lahore – In view of the possible increase in water flow in the Indus River, the relevant agencies have increased monitoring, while the Flood Forecasting Division has warned that the water at Guddu Barrage may reach the level of moderate flood in the next 24 hours.

According to the latest forecast, low-level flood conditions are likely at Sukkur Barrage, while low-level floods are also expected to persist at Kalabagh, Chashma and Taunsa Barrage.

According to the Meteorological Department, rain is likely to occur in various areas of Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and upper Punjab till August 17. Apart from increasing the water level in the catchment areas of rivers due to rain in the upper areas, the flow in local streams is also likely to increase.

The Flood Forecasting Division has not identified any major increase at the important measuring points of the Kabul, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers at present, but it has emphasised the need to keep a close watch on the situation.

According to the water discharge data on the Indus River, 257,581 cusecs of water was being discharged from Kalabagh, 295,570 cusecs from Taunsa and 253,366 cusecs from Guddu Barrage.

According to the daily report of WAPDA, the inflow of water into the Indus River at Tarbela was 199,100 cusecs, and the outflow was 169,300 cusecs. The inflow and outflow into the Kabul River at Nowshera were 36,200 cusecs.

According to the report, the inflow of the Jhelum River at Mangla was 38,300 cusecs, while the outflow was 7,000 cusecs. The inflow of water into the Chenab River at Marala was 70,100 cusecs, and the outflow was 56,200 cusecs.

The water level in the reservoirs was also high. The Tarbela Dam reached its maximum conservation level of 1,550 feet at 6 am on Monday, while the live storage was recorded at 5.580 million acre feet.

The water level in the Mangla Dam remained at 1,206.90 feet, which is about 35 feet below its maximum level of 1,242 feet. The live storage of Mangla was reported to be 4.683 million acre-feet.

Chashma Lake has also reached near its maximum level. The water level was recorded at 648.50 feet, while the maximum conservation level is 649 feet. The live storage in the lake was recorded at 0.285 million acre-feet.

On the other hand, the administration is also monitoring the situation of the Ravi River in Lahore. Deputy Commissioner Lahore Retired Captain Muhammad Ali Ijaz visited the river and reviewed the water flow, the situation in nearby areas and the arrangements to deal with the flood.

The Deputy Commissioner directed the concerned officers to monitor the Ravi River round the clock and report any unusual change in the water level to the control rooms immediately.

The administration was also briefed about the relief camps to be set up in case of possible floods, available facilities, machinery and other necessary resources.

According to the district administration, the water flow in the Ravi River was normal at the time of the visit; however, due to expected rains, the situation is being continuously monitored, and necessary resources have been kept ready to deal with emergencies.