HYDERABAD: Sindh Minister for Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro on Sunday evening conducted an emergency visit to the Panjnad Barrage to monitor the flood situation after water levels surged across the Indus River system.
Accompanying him were former federal minister Abid Bhayo and Sindh Irrigation Secretary Zareef Iqbal Khero. They were briefed by officials about the water situation at Panjnad. The briefing was also attended by the Bahawalpur commissioner.
Shoro assessed the flood situation at the Panjnad Barrage where the inflow and outflow were both recorded at 598,948 cusecs.
Speaking to The News, he confirmed that the current water inflow at Panjnad stood at nearly 600,000 cusecs, while more than 210,000 cusecs were being discharged from the Indus River at the Taunsa Barrage.
Based on these figures, he projected that the combined flow towards the Guddu Barrage may rise to approximately 800,000 cusecs within the next 48 hours.
The Sindh irrigation minister stated that it was too early to declare the situation a ‘super flood’, but emphasised that the water levels at Panjnad could reach extremely high during the early hours of Monday.
He asserted that the Sindh government was fully prepared to handle any emergency, including a super flood.
He added that all relevant departments and monitoring cells had been activated to track the inflows and outflows at the barrages and vulnerable riverbanks across the province.
As of Sunday night, the inflow at the Guddu Barrage, which is located near Kashmore in Sindh, reached 394,859 cusecs with an outflow of 368,624 cusecs.
The Guddu Barrage has a maximum discharge capacity of 1.2 million cusecs. Any inflow above 900,000 cusecs is considered a super flood for this site.
Historically, Guddu experienced massive floods in 1976 and 2010, when flows reached 1,199,672 and 1,148,350 cusecs respectively.
Another important barrage in Sindh is the Sukkur Barrage, which is situated about 100 miles downstream of Guddu. It recorded an inflow of 324,000 cusecs and an outflow of 280,050 cusecs on Sunday night.
The Sukkur Barrage’s current operational capacity is around 900,000 cusecs. Since its construction, it has faced 11 major flood events exceeding 900,000 cusecs, including six instances where flows surpassed 1.1 million cusecs.
Notably, the 1976 flood peaked at around 1.2 million cusecs. The barrage is currently undergoing gate upgrades, including the replacement of the Gates 44–59 and 62–63, with the removal of a cofferdam planned for June 2025 to assess its structural integrity ahead of future flood seasons.
Another key barrage in the province is the Kotri Barrage, the last major control structure before the Indus River flows into the Arabian Sea, where inflow was recorded at 244,283 cusecs and outflow at 231,763 cusecs on Sunday night.
The Kotri Barrage is located between Jamshoro and Hyderabad and has a maximum discharge capacity of 875,000 cusecs. In 2010, it witnessed an exceptional high flood when more than 900,000 cusecs passed through its gates—an event not seen in over half a century.
The Kotri Barrage also survived a major flood in 1956 when inflows touched nearly 981,000 cusecs, exceeding its design capacity.
Historically, several breaches along both the right and left banks of the Indus River from Guddu to Sukkur, Sukkur to Kotri, and from Kotri to the Arabian Sea have led to catastrophic impacts on riverine communities.
In August 2010, the Tori Loop Bund downstream from Guddu breached, displacing millions.
The Ghouspur Loop Bund was also deliberately breached to ease pressure on the main river channel.
Further downstream in the lower Indus, the Kot Almo dyke near Sujawal failed, inundating vast tracts of land.
These breaches prompted the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the causes and management failures of the 2010 floods.
Meanwhile, in Hyderabad Division, the Sindh government has initiated emergency measures in riverine districts.
Dykes and embankments are being monitored around the clock. Medical camps have been set up, livestock are being vaccinated, and announcements made to evacuate from low-lying katcha areas.
The district administrations have been overseeing both embankment surveillance and evacuation operations.
With more water moving downstream and the weather system still active, the next 24 to 48 hours are likely to determine whether Sindh will once again face a major flood emergency.
