Thousands Evacuated as 'Exceptionally High' Flooding Devastates Parts of Pakistan's Punjab

Some 200,000 people have been evacuated as floods devastate parts of Pakistan's Punjab province.

Rescuers carried residents to safety in boats after disaster authorities warned of exceptionally high floods along the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers. Several districts called in the army to help.

It comes after Pakistani officials said India had warned it would release water from major dams upstream, acknowledging this would flood parts of what is Pakistan's most populous province.

Both countries have suffered intense rainfall in recent weeks, with monsoon rains killing more than 800 people in Pakistan since June.

The country's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned people in affected areas to stay away from rivers, drains, and low-lying zones.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the federal government would fully cooperate with regional authorities to avert the risk of flooding, particularly in the urban areas of Gujarat, Sialkot, and Lahore – Pakistan's second-most populous city.

Sialkot has seen more rainfall in 24 hours than the highest record in the past 49 years, according to Pakistan's chief meteorologists. This has left cars, homes, and buildings submerged.

Many of the city’s residents are stranded, the federal planning minister has told the BBC.

Rescuers have been going door-to-door in villages, relocating residents and their livestock by boat.

These boats have saved more than 32,000 people who were trapped by floodwaters, the Reuters news agency reports, citing local officials.

The BBC traveled alongside rescuers as they evacuated hundreds of people from a village in Kasur district, on the border with India.

The Sutlej River had overflowed, submerging homes and washing away the walls meant to protect them.

Some residents are refusing to evacuate, fearing the financial cost of leaving once again.

Others have accepted help from emergency teams, choosing to stay in shelters or with friends and relatives who live on higher ground.