On August 27, 2025, the Pakistan Army, in collaboration with local authorities, conducted a controlled demolition of embankments along the Chenab River near Gujranwala to divert floodwaters and protect Sialkot and Wazirabad from severe flooding, per ProPakistani and Minute Mirror. Triggered by monsoon rains and upstream water releases from Indian dams, the river’s flow hit 996,000 cusecs at Qadirabad Barrage, a level unseen since 2014, per PDMA Punjab. Villages near the breach were evacuated to shelters beforehand, ensuring no immediate casualties, though rural areas, farmlands, and settlements in Gujranwala Division are now flooded, per ARY News.
The operation alleviated pressure on the barrage, safeguarding urban centers’ homes, businesses, and infrastructure, per. Relief efforts include 260 relief camps, 160 medical camps, and 214 veterinary camps, supporting over 150,000 evacuated people and 35,000 animals with food, water, and medical supplies, per. Rescue boats and heavy machinery are deployed, per. The floods, worsened by India’s dam releases on the Ravi, Chenab, and Sutlej, have killed 25 in Punjab, with 600,000 affected and crops on millions of acres destroyed, per The Tribune and Dunya News.
The Ravi at Shahdara reached 145,000 cusecs, and the Chenab at Khanki Barrage hit 859,000 cusecs, prompting high alerts, per. The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara was inundated, with 100–300 people rescued, per. The NDMA and Punjab government, with Rs. 900 million allocated, urge compliance with evacuation orders, per. The monsoon, intensified by climate change, has claimed 800 lives nationwide since June, per Reuters.
