NAROWAL, PAKISTAN: Authorities in Pakistan blew up an embankment next to a swollen dam on Wednesday (Aug 27) as flooding submerged one of the world’s holiest Sikh sites.
Heavy rains across the border in India have pushed three rivers in eastern Pakistan to exceptionally high levels, triggering flood alerts across Punjab province. The army was deployed to help evacuate people and livestock near the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers.
The disaster authority said around 210,000 people had moved to safer ground.
DAM BREACHED TO EASE PRESSURE
At the Qadirabad dam on the Chenab River, officials carried out a controlled explosion of an embankment as water levels surged.
“To save the structure, we have breached the right marginal embankment so that the flow of the water reduces,” said Mazhar Hussain, a spokesperson for Punjab’s disaster management agency.
