Massive Rescue Operation Across Jhang
The Jhang district administration carried out one of the largest rescue efforts in the district’s history during the recent devastating floods, according to The News. Officials said 423,594 people and 223,424 animals were rescued and relocated to safe areas as floodwater swept through village after village.
Deputy Commissioner Jhang Ali Akbar Bhinder briefed the media on the scale of the operation and the damage left behind. The relief work was carried out under the directives of the Punjab Chief Minister, with rescue and administration teams working across all four tehsils of the district.
Boats, Camps and Ration Bags
To reach people trapped by floodwater, the administration deployed 150 boats across the affected areas. A total of 35 relief camps were established for displaced families, 20 of them in government buildings, where those rescued were shifted to safety.
Food support was a major part of the operation. According to The News, 12,901 ration bags were distributed across all four tehsils, and families staying in the relief camps were served three meals a day.
Medical and Veterinary Teams in the Field
Along with rescue and food, health care was provided on a large scale. Medical teams treated 45,542 people during the operations, officials said.
Animals, which are the main source of income for many rural families, were not ignored either. Veterinary units treated 73,070 animals, and large quantities of fodder were distributed to keep livestock alive — including 214,120 kg of green fodder and 393,880 kg of Wanda.
Relief Spread Across All Four Tehsils
One of the biggest challenges for the administration was the size of the affected area. The operation was not limited to the city or a single belt along the river; ration distribution and rescue work were spread across all four tehsils of the district, so that families in remote villages were reached as well.
The 35 relief camps became the centre of daily life for the displaced. With three meals a day served in the camps, a place in a government building for many families, medical teams treating the sick and veterinary units looking after animals, the camps were run as complete support points rather than just shelters. The distribution of green fodder and Wanda on such a large scale also shows that the administration treated livestock as a priority, knowing that for a farming family, a surviving animal can be the difference between recovery and complete ruin.
The Scale of the Damage
The figures shared by the district administration show how badly Jhang was hit. The floods damaged 311 villages and affected a population of 563,000 people. Around 380,988 acres of land were inundated, including crops standing on 324,292 acres, which means heavy losses for farmers just as their fields were their only hope of income.
Public infrastructure also suffered badly. According to The News, 108 roads, 229 schools and 19 health centres were damaged by the floods, disrupting travel, education and basic health services in large parts of the district.
Survey Underway for the Rehabilitation Phase
With rescue and relief work carried out on this scale, the focus is now shifting towards recovery. A damage assessment survey is underway, officials said, which will record the losses of families, farmers and public buildings.
That survey will form the basis of the rehabilitation phase, in which the government is expected to plan how homes, crops, roads, schools and health centres will be restored. For the thousands of families who lost their homes, animals and crops, the coming rehabilitation work will decide how quickly normal life can return to the flood-hit areas of Jhang.
