Mass evacuations after India issues flood alert to Pakistan

The warnings were sent to Islamabad on humanitarian grounds and to help avoid loss of life and property, New Delhi has said

Pakistan was able to safely evacuate 150,000 people after India alerted it that it would release excess water from overflowing dams and swollen rivers into low-lying areas along their shared border.

The Indian High Commission in Islamabad issued the latest alert to Pakistani authorities on Wednesday, warning of a high risk of flooding in the Punjab region. The warnings were sent on humanitarian grounds and to prevent loss of life and property, the Indian government said.

New Delhi issued a flood warning as it prepared to release water from the rapidly filling Madhopur Dam and the Thein Dam, both located on the Ravi River, which flows from Indian Punjab into Pakistan, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that relief operations should be further accelerated, and coordination between institutions should be intensified. “The process of immediately relocating people living along river passages to safe locations should be made more effective and swift,” he added.

India's Flood Warning Helped Pakistan Evacuate & Save 150,000 People - Reports

India reached out to Pakistan for the first time since Operation Sindoor to warn the country it was going to release water from the rapidly filling Madhopur dam. #IWT #Indus pic.twitter.com/KjbxPYWEEY

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 27, 2025

India routinely releases water from its dams when they get too full, with the excess flowing into Pakistan, as the two nations share rivers. After the deadly April terrorist attack in Kashmir, New Delhi put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 in abeyance. Brokered by the World Bank, the IWT is a water-sharing agreement between the countries and has a provision under which India alerts its neighbor of discharges.

Nearly 35,000 people have voluntarily left their homes after flood warnings since August 14, Reuters cited Pakistani officials as saying. “Due to climate change, eastern rivers are experiencing heavier rainfall compared to the past,” a Punjab minister told the news agency.

While Pakistan’s northern regions have experienced accelerated glacial melting, the southern port city of Karachi was partially submerged by monsoon floods last week, the Dawn newspaper reported.

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