District authorities issued emergency evacuation alerts for low-lying settlements and declared a local holiday for all educational institutions on Tuesday as Nullah Lai swelled to dangerous levels following relentless monsoon downpours, submerging major arterial roads and stranding residents across the city.
Code Red enforced, Lai reaches 27.5 feet during torrential rain
RAWALPINDI, Sep 01 (APP):District authorities issued emergency evacuation alerts for low-lying settlements and declared a local holiday for all educational institutions on Tuesday as Nullah Lai swelled to dangerous levels following relentless monsoon downpours, submerging major arterial roads and stranding residents across the city.
The Punjab Emergency Services Department (Rescue 1122) enforced a district-wide “Code Red” alert after water levels at Nullah Lai’s Katarian Bridge crested at 27.5 feet, exceeding the 20-foot critical evacuation threshold while the gauge at Gwalmandi recorded 21.5 feet.
Continuous heavy rainfall across the catchment areas threatens to push water levels higher, prompting immediate field deployments of heavy machinery and relief personnel to vulnerable hotspots including Liaquat Bagh, Committee Chowk Underpass, Murree Road, Dhoke Khabba, Circular Road, and Sadiqabad.
Stagnant rainwater up to four feet deep on Old Airport Road completely suspended traffic, while severe waterlogging paralyzed movement along Murree Road, Chaklala, and the Islamabad Expressway.
Choked routes and flooded diversions brought traffic to a complete standstill from Koral towards Ammar Chowk, Kachehri to Ammar Chowk, and the Expressway stretch from Koral to Faizabad. Severe flash flooding inundated several low-lying residential sectors, with floodwaters surging into homes across Arya Mohallah, Nadeem Colony, Gwalmandi, Multani Mohallah, Gulzar-e-Quaid, and Wakeel Colony. Rescue teams successfully evacuated dozens of stranded citizens from flooded properties.
District administration placed Rescue 1122, Civil Defence, the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company and the Municipal Corporation on high alert to execute swift evacuations and clear blocked drainage networks.
Authorities advised citizens to refrain from unnecessary travel, keep children away from electric poles and swollen nullahs, and follow safety advisories closely as administrative teams maintain continuous 24-hour field surveillance across flood-prone sectors.
