Islamabad: Catastrophic flooding across Pakistan’s Punjab province has forced the evacuation of nearly half a million people, after relentless monsoon rains and swollen rivers inundated vast stretches of farmland and villages.

Authorities confirmed that about 481,000 residents, along with more than 400,000 livestock, have been relocated to safer areas in one of the largest rescue operations in recent decades. The flooding was triggered as the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers overflowed simultaneously for the first time in the country’s history, submerging over 1,400 villages.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), at least 835 people have died nationwide since the monsoon season began in late June, including 195 in Punjab. Thousands more remain stranded, with relief operations ongoing across 2,300 flood-hit settlements.