Torrential rainfall has triggered flash floods across parts of India and Pakistan, with Indian-controlled Kashmir's Jammu region reporting at least 32 deaths following a landslide on a pilgrimage route, according to the Press Trust of India.
The specific timeline of the fatalities is not yet confirmed.
In Pakistan, over 150,000 people have been displaced in Punjab province as heavy rains caused rivers to overflow and flood nearby villages. Officials have requested military support for rescue and relief efforts.
More than 20,000 residents were evacuated overnight from flood-prone areas on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city. These residents were living along the Ravi River, said Irfan Ali Kathia, head of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority.
Mass evacuations began earlier in the week across six Punjab districts, spurred by unusually intense monsoon rains and water released from dams in neighboring India, which led to severe flooding in low-lying border regions, Kathia said.
Rain is forecast to continue throughout the week. Flash floods and heavy downpours in the Himalayan region have already resulted in nearly 100 deaths in August alone.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commended the emergency response teams for rapid evacuations that prevented greater losses. He also confirmed that tents and aid supplies are being distributed to affected communities.
Floodwaters in the Ravi, Chenab, and Sutlej rivers are rising dangerously, submerging multiple villages across the districts of Kasur, Okara, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Vehari, and Sialkot, Kathia warned. Boats have been deployed to rescue people stranded in flooded areas.
India informed Pakistan of the potential for cross-border flooding through diplomatic channels rather than via the Indus Waters Commission — the formal bilateral mechanism established under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. India had suspended the commission’s operations following the killing of 26 tourists in Kashmir in April, a move Pakistan disputes.
Meanwhile, rescue teams continue to search for over 150 people still missing after cloudburst-induced flooding earlier this month killed more than 300 in three villages in Pakistan’s Buner district.
Since late June, flooding across Pakistan has claimed the lives of over 800 people.
Experts say that climate change is intensifying South Asia’s monsoon rains, raising the risk of disasters similar to the catastrophic 2022 floods that submerged a third of Pakistan and left over 1,700 dead.