Pakistan floods: How Punjab using drones and thermal imaging to rescue millions

Dubai: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has emerged as the face of Pakistan’s fight against its worst-ever floods, personally leading operations as rising waters devastate the country’s most populous province.

Nearly two million people have been affected after record-breaking monsoon rains and cross-border water flows from India swelled Punjab’s rivers to historic levels. Vast stretches of farmland are submerged, villages have been cut off, and thousands of homes destroyed, raising fears of a humanitarian and food security crisis.

Maryam Nawaz has set up camp in the Provincial Control Room in Lahore, where she oversees a round-the-clock “war room” coordinating commissioners, rescue services, police, and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.

Drone feeds, satellite data, and CCTV networks are being monitored live as she directs evacuations and relief operations.

She has also visited flood-hit areas herself, stressing that “every life is precious” and instructing district administrations not to leave a single family behind. Under her leadership, Punjab has already carried out the evacuation of over 600,000 people and close to 500,000 livestock within days.

Punjab is the first province in Pakistan to introduce tech-driven disaster management. Thermal imaging drones, real-time road connectivity checks, and Safe City CCTV networks are being used to locate stranded citizens and coordinate rescues. Authorities say 800 rescues were carried out using drone surveillance alone in districts like Jhang, Sialkot and Gujrat.

Hospitals have been prioritised in emergency dewatering operations, ensuring uninterrupted medical services despite widespread flooding. Relief teams are distributing food hampers and providing three cooked meals daily in rescue camps, while tents and bedding are supplied for families who choose not to leave their homes.

In a powerful display of solidarity, Maryam Nawaz ordered a special dewatering operation at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, a sacred Sikh site that had been inundated. The shrine has since been restored to a safe, dry condition.

The crisis underscores how climate change is compounding South Asia’s vulnerabilities. Pakistan, one of the countries least responsible for global emissions, received 26.5% more monsoon rain this year compared to last. The disaster has been worsened by India’s release of water from upstream rivers and dams into Pakistan’s low-lying plains — a move that Islamabad claims has magnified the flooding.

Punjab, home to 150 million people and the heart of Pakistan’s agriculture, faces mounting risks to food security. With wheat and cash crops submerged, analysts warn of possible shortages and inflation in the months ahead, echoing the devastation of the 2022 floods.

Maryam Nawaz has vowed to continue leading from the front until the crisis is over. “This is the biggest flood in Punjab’s history, but no citizen will be left behind,” she said. “Every resource of the government is being employed to save lives and livelihoods.”

Her high-visibility leadership, blending hands-on fieldwork with technology-driven coordination, is being seen as a test of governance in an era where Pakistan’s climate challenges are only set to intensify.