Chandigarh (India), September 6: At least 30 people have died and more than 354,000 residents have been affected as heavy rains and floods continue to batter the north Indian state of Punjab, forcing authorities to declare all 23 districts flood-hit.
Officials confirmed that 20,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying and severely impacted areas. Hundreds of relief camps have been set up to provide temporary shelter, food, and medical facilities to displaced families.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann described the floods as Punjab’s worst since 1988, urging the federal government for emergency assistance and appealing to the nation to “stand by the state” in its hour of crisis.
Rivers Overflow, Crops Destroyed
The Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers have risen to near-danger levels, while multiple reservoirs are at full capacity, threatening further flooding.
Punjab, known as India’s “food basket” for its wheat and rice production, has suffered extensive crop damage across 148,000 hectares of farmland. Nearly a quarter of Punjab’s 30 million people rely on agriculture, raising concerns about rural livelihoods and food security.
The Indian Army, Air Force, Navy, and disaster response teams have deployed 35 helicopters and 100 boats for rescue and relief operations. CM Mann personally inspected flood-hit Ferozepur district by boat, calling the situation “grim.”
India’s weather department attributed the floods to repeated interactions between monsoon currents and westerly disturbances, leading to unusually heavy rains in northern India. Neighboring Pakistan’s Punjab province has also been hit hard, with two million people affected there in recent weeks.
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