Punjab floods washed away thousands of villages and farms; now the devastation threatens Pakistan's economy

Mehdi Hassan, 40, a farm labourer who fled from a flooded area, poses for a photo, following monsoon rains and rising water levels of the Chenab River, in Harsa Bhula village, Chiniot district, Punjab province, Pakistan, August 30, 2025. - Reuters

CHINIOT, Pakistan: Across the fertile plains of Pakistan's Punjab, families are struggling to rebuild their lives after the worst flooding in decades swept away homes, destroyed crops and drowned livestock.

"Thirteen of my 15 acres are gone," said Muhammad Amjad, 45, a rice and potato farmer in Chiniot, as he stood by submerged fields. "Our rice is completely destroyed. Women and children have evacuated. Men are left guarding what remains."