Karakoram Highway Severed by Another Flood; Sutlej River Threatens Evacuation.
A new flood has cut off the Karakoram Highway, and people living near the Sutlej River are being evacuated.
GILGIT / LAHORE: In Gilgit-Baltistan, hundreds of travellers were left stranded on Wednesday after a glacial lake outburst flood tore through part of the Karakoram Highway, while in Punjab, officials ordered the evacuation of riverbank communities as forecasters warned of intense monsoon rains and swelling rivers.
The trouble began Tuesday evening in Gulmit, Gojal, Hunza, when a surge from the Juchar Nullah, fueled by accelerated glacier melt, roared into the valley. The torrent swept away a woman-run restaurant, a government tourist center, orchards, farmland, and vital infrastructure. Rescue 1122 teams reported the loss of electricity poles, internet lines, and even a bridge.
Sections of the KKH were simply gone. With the road severed, there was no way through for locals or tourists heading to and from China via Khunjerab Pass. “Never experienced such intensity of floods in the nullah,” said resident Saeed Jan, standing amid the debris.
The flood also severed a fiber-optic cable, leaving mobile and internet services down. Rising water in the Khunjerab River damaged a power line near Sost, cutting electricity to surrounding communities. Efforts to clear the road have been slowed by repeated mudflows and dangerous water levels. Foot crossings, even for the sick, are now considered impossible.
In Hunza’s Hassanabad, erosion linked to the Shishper glacier’s outburst claimed two more homes on Wednesday. Several others remain at risk. A fallen electricity pole left Roshanabad Mohallah without power.
Further afield, flash floods battered the Shigar district, damaging homes in Dogoro village and washing away crops in the Horchas nullah. The road to K2 is blocked.
Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said rehabilitation work was ongoing but warned that climate change had “changed the map” of the region. “High river flows, erosion, landslides—all of it is slowing the repairs,” he said, adding that the chief minister had ordered urgent work in Shigar, Ghizer, Hunza, Gilgit, Astore, Diamer, and other affected districts.
Evacuations Along the Sutlej
In Punjab’s Kasur district, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority ordered the immediate evacuation of families living near the Sutlej River. Authorities fear a sharp rise in water levels as the season’s strongest monsoon spell approaches.
“There is a possibility of a further increase in the flow of the Sutlej River next week, and citizens are requested to immediately move to safer places,” PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said during an emergency inspection in Kasur.
The monsoon, now in its seventh spell, has already claimed 164 lives across Punjab. The PDMA has warned of urban flooding in major cities, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Sialkot, and of possible landslides in Murree and Galiyat.
Forecasters expect the heaviest rains from Aug 13–17 in upper Punjab, followed by days of downpours from Aug 18–21 in other regions. River monitoring stations are already showing low-level flooding on the Indus at Kalabagh, Tarbela, and Chashma, with Tarbela Dam at 96 percent capacity.
Kasur Deputy Commissioner Imran Ali said drains were being desilted, machinery positioned, and staff deployed at vulnerable spots. “Adequate arrangements have been completed to deal with the flood situation at all sensitive places,” he told reporters.
Published in Daily Pak, August 14th, 2025
