The vibrant provincial capital of Lahore, Pakistan, has so far been able to contain a potentially fatal Ravi River surge.

Floodwater levels in Shahdara and Baloki, two important urban areas, have risen to 220,000 cusecs, dangerously close to the river's 250,000 cusec capacity, as a result of unrelenting monsoon rains and abrupt releases of water from upstream Indian dams.

Shahdara and the Surrounding Areas in the Lahore Suburb

The Ravi River has flooded a number of suburban neighbourhoods in Lahore, including Shafiqabad, Farrakhabad, Tallat Park (near Shahdara Bridge), "Theme Park," and "Park View."

Even though water started to enter these areas early on Thursday, no casualties were reported thanks to prompt and effective evacuations.

Rescue 1122 and other organizations were on call for emergencies, and the district administration set up relief camps in nearby schools with food, shelter, and basic supplies.

The situation was still under control in spite of the brief flooding.

Strong embankments built by Park View's developers protected the majority of the blocks from harm, though a few vacant blocks experienced brief disruptions before residents left.

Flood Levels and Patterns at Different River Stations

With outflows approaching 220,000 cusecs, the Ravi River's channel at Lahore is still dangerously full, falling short of its intended maximum of 250,000 cusecs.

At night, Balloki recorded 117,490 cusecs, Shahdara hit 219,770 cusecs, and Ravi Siphon recorded 220,627 cusecs.

Read More: Punjab floods crisis 2025: 12 million people affected across 1,432 villages

The Chenab River experienced hazardous flows at key locations further upstream: Qadirabad surged to 425,993 cusecs, Khanki stayed high at 259,815 cusecs, and Marala and Trimmu were slightly lower with declining trends, Marala at 154,040 cusecs, Trimmu at 98,994 cusecs.

Similar dangers were felt in other places. Parts of the Sutlej River (specifically Ganda Singh Wala) and sections of the Chenab were classified as exceptionally high floods, as was the Ravi at Shahdara in downtown Lahore.

Relief Efforts and Evacuations in Punjab

Officials are characterizing the calamity that Punjab is experiencing as the worst in decades.

Due to the unpredictable escalation of rivers, over 150,000 to 210,000 people have been evacuated from areas that pose a risk, including 20,000 from the outskirts of Lahore alone.

The flood has flooded more than 1,400 villages, impacted over 1.46 million people, and killed at least 17 people in Punjab.

A large-scale rescue and relief effort spanning the entire province was started by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

In all of the flooded areas:

• 81 relief camps and 28 medical camps are in operation, and 70,358 people are impacted across 101 villages.
• 150,000 people affected in 333 villages, with 78 relief camps and 28 medical camps operational.
• The worst-hit area was the Sutlej River region, where 335 villages and 380,768 people were impacted; 104 relief camps and 105 medical camps provided assistance.

Operational Reach

More than 3,000 people have been evacuated in the last 24 hours by thousands of rescue workers—more than 9,500 employees and volunteers—using 669 boats.

Large numbers of people, including women and children, as well as livestock, were evacuated from districts like Nankana Sahib, Mandi Bahauddin, and Hafizabad.

Provincial Toll

The devastating floods in Punjab have destroyed thousands of acres of crops, displaced over 1.2 to 1.5 million people, and submerged over 1,400 to 1,600 villages.

Additionally flooded was the sacred location of Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal.

Ongoing rain threats forecasts indicate that river catchment areas will see moderate to heavy rainfall from August 29 to 30.

By the evening of August 29, the Chenab at Trimmu is predicted to reach exceptionally high flood status, and Ravi at Balloki is expecting a comparable increase in the next 24 hours.