While dark clouds loom over Punjab on Friday, meteorological officials have issued an orange warning for heavy rain across four districts in the north, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, and Rupnagar. The other six districts, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, SAS Nagar (Mohali), and Fatehgarh Sahib, are put on yellow warning for probable heavy showers.
The rest of Punjab can expect light and medium rain, but all are being requested to watch their step over the weekend because rain-inducing conditions can turn around very quickly.
Meteorological officials warn that this is just one part of a bigger weather system that is not only hitting Punjab, but also the bordering Haryana, Chandigarh, and especially Himachal Pradesh. There too, there has been an orange alert, with predictions of heavy to very heavy rains stressing already overflowing rivers and reservoirs like Bhakra, Pong, and Ranjit Sagar.
Experts have warned that increased hill rain would force the release of water from dams and raise the chances of floods like conditions in Punjab.
The situation is already grim in Moga district, where the overflowing Sutlej River has turned fields and villages into islands. Local reports indicate that three villages, Sanghera, Kombo Khurd, and Serewala, are inundated.
Dozens of families are moving essential belongings and cattle to upper ground, some clinging to rooftops and embankments. Across the district, up to 6,000 acres of cropland are submerged, with livelihoods and food security at risk if rains continue to rise.
Water level at major dams is still monitored by the officials. On Thursday, a large quantity had to be released from Himachal's Pong Dam, which has already overflowed low-lying areas in certain tracts of Hoshiarpur (Punjab) and is poised to overflow even more.
People in regions where there have been earlier reports of flooding are being warned to prepare to move out and listen to the local alerts as the spell of rains continues.
Even as there was some respite from rain in parts on Thursday, the temperature rose sharply.. Advisory is issued for the people living near rivers, drains, or in low-lying localities should be all the more cautious and take necessary precautionary steps.
