300,000 more people evacuated in eastern Pakistan after a new Indian flood alert

SHER SHAH, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say nearly 300,000 people have been evacuated in the past 48 hours from flood-hit areas of Pakistan's Punjab province following the latest flood alerts by India, officials said Wednesday.

The evacuations bring the total number of people displaced since last month to 1.3 million.

Floodwaters have submerged dozens of villages in Punjab's Muzaffargarh district, after earlier inundating Narowal and Sialkot, both near the border with India.

Authorities are also struggling to divert overflowing rivers onto farmlands to protect major cities, as part of one of the largest rescue and relief operations in the history of Punjab, which straddles eastern Pakistan and northwestern India.

Thousand of rescuers using boats are taking part in the relief and rescue operations, while the military has also been deployed to transport people and animals from inundated villages, said Arfan Ali Kathia, director-general of Punjab's Provincial Disaster Management Authority.

A new flood alert was shared with Pakistan by neighboring India through diplomatic channels early Wednesday, Kathia said. It was the second such alert in 24 hours following heavy rains and water releases from dams in India.

Kathia said the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers are all in high flood following torrential rains and upstream discharges.

Rescuers are also using drones to find people stranded on rooftops in the flood-hit areas. Kathia said more than 3.3 million people across 33,000 villages in the province have been affected so far. Damages are still being assessed and all those who lost homes and crops would be compensated by the Punjab government, he said.

Landslides and flooding have killed at least 29 people in India's Punjab state, home to more than 30 million people.

Tent villages are being set up and food and other essential items are being supplied to the flood-affected people, he said, though many survivors complained about a lack of government aid.

There are about 40,000 people in the relief camps, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. It remains unclear where the rest are sheltering.

Noor Mohammad, a 54-year-old farmer in Sher Shah village near Muzaffargarh district, said he hasn’t received any help.

“Frustrated over this dayslong situation, I sent my family members to stay with relatives in the nearby area,” he said, standing on higher ground overlooking his flooded village.

Malik Ramzan, another displaced resident, said he chose to stay near his inundated home rather than enter a relief camp. “There are no livable facilities in the camps,” he said. “Food isn’t delivered on time, and we are treated like beggars,” he said.

However, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif visited flood-hit areas in Muzaffargarh on Wednesday, meeting with displaced families at relief camps. Her visit came just hours after India issued the latest cross-border flood alert.

Last week's flooding mainly hit districts in Kasur, Bahawalpur and Narowal, where the deluge also submerged the shrine of Guru Nanak, located near the Indian border. However, authorities said the shrine is being reopened for pilgrims after water receded and the building was cleaned and restored.

Pakistan began mass evacuations last month after India released water from overflowing dams into low-lying border regions.

The latest floods are the worst since 2022 when climate-induced flooding killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan.

Associated Press writers Dogar in Lahore, Pakistan and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, contributed to this story.

Villagers gather outside their homes, which are surrounding by floodwaters, in Tiba Gheal village, in Jhang district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jahan Zeb)

Indian army soldiers travel in boats through floodwaters to rescue the stranded people following heavy rains in Kapurthala district of northern state of Punjab, India, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill)

A resident speaks on his mobile phone after his area was cut off by floodwaters following heavy rains in Kapurthala district of northern state of Punjab, India, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill)

Villagers are evacuated by rescue workers from a flooded area in Muza Islam Wala, in Jhang district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

People, who fled from their homes due to flood, take shelter at a relief camp on the outskirts of Multan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Asim Tanveer)

Women wade through a flooded field in Muza Islam Wala, in Jhang district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Villagers wade through a flooded area, in Tiba Gheal village, in Jhang district, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jahan Zeb)

BOSTON (AP) — When Zdeno Chara signed with the Boston Bruins in 2006, the No. 3 he wore early in his career had already been retired by the Original Six franchise.

So he picked No. 33 without giving it much thought.

“Little did I know how meaningful 33 was,” Chara said on Thursday night before his number was raised to the TD Garden rafters not far from where Larry Bird's No. 33 already hangs in Celtics green.

It is the 13th number retired by the Bruins, and the latest in a collection of Hall of Fame defenseman that runs from Eddie Shore to Bobby Orr to Raymond Bourque.

“It's a huge honor,” Chara told reporters. "I can’t explain to you how honored I feel. I’m humbled about being selected to be one of the numbers being retired. Being with that history, forever."

The 2009 Norris Trophy winner and a 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Chara spent 14 of his 24 NHL seasons in Boston, leading the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup championship. His 1,680 games is the most of any NHL defenseman; at 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06m), he is the tallest player in league history, and his 108.8 mph (175.1 kmh) slap shot in the 2012 skills competition remains the NHL record.

But his teammates and other Bruins attending Thursday's ceremony said Chara's biggest contribution was signing with a team that hadn't won a playoff series in six years — “the best decision I ever made” — and turning them into champions.

“Things really changed when Zee came here as a free agent,” Bourque said. "From that point on, the culture and everything that comes with that, and the success and the run that they had, he was such a big part of that.

“He’s a legend,” Bourque said. “He really deserves to be up there.”

Bourque was among the former Bruins greats in attendance, along with Orr — both of them, like Chara, Boston defensemen who finished their careers elsewhere on their way to the Hall of Fame. They arrived via gold carpet that led them past adoring fans and the statue of Orr flying through the air following his Cup-winning goal in the 1970 finals.

Other fellow retired number honorees in attendance included Cam Neely, Willie O’Ree, Rick Middleton, Terry O'Reilly and John Bucyk. The current Bruins sat on the bench, all wearing Chara jerseys.

Five members of the 2011 roster — Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi, Dennis Seidenberg, David Krejci and Tuukka Rask — carried the retired number onto the ice, and teammate Andrew Ference served as emcee.

In his speech, Chara read the names of every player on the Bruins last Cup winners. Asked why, he said after: “Without championships, you are not going to be successful, you’re not going to be recognized.

"The championships, that’s what they do. They raise everyone, they extend careers for everyone,” he explained. "They create dynasties. They create stories. They create memories. They created what we’re experiencing tonight.

"It’s very simple: Once you win the championship, everything gets so much better for everyone. And the most beautiful thing about it: You create extended families with each other. It’s true. You have bonds, you have friendships that are now still forever. It’s amazing; it’s like you’re seeing your brother. You trust the person; you know everything about them. And anytime anybody needs something, you’re there for them.

“That’s what winning championships do,” he said. “Not just for a career, but for the rest of your lives, it means something very special.”

The ceremony at center ice featured a “Big Zee” ice sculpture flanking the podium and a large No. 33 behind it. Fans were asked to get in their seats two hours early, and the full TD Garden erupted in a giant shout of “Zee!” followed by an extended cheer of “Thank you, Chara!”

A highlight video featured former Bruins Brad Marchand and current coach Marco Sturm, Chara's teammate from 2006-10. Many of them spoke of the way Chara led by example.

“He wasn’t really a ‘Rah, rah!’ guy,” former Bruins forward and current team president Neely said, “but when he spoke, it was with a purpose.”

And so, when it was time to raise his No. 33 to the rafters, Chara stood by with his wife, Tatiana, while their children — Zack, Ben and Elliz — pulled the ropes.

“That’s the biggest reward for me: To see my children and my family doing it instead of me. I think I get better joy watching them doing it than the joy of me doing it because it's so much more meaningful,” he explained. "They deserve that more than me."

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Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara speaks during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara leads his family over to his number "33" to raise it to the rafters before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, center, waves to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony, as Bruins' players with their number already retired, from left, Willie O'Ree, Rick Middleton, Terrry O'Reilly, Cam Neely, emcee Andrew Ferrance and Bobby Orr look on before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara's number "33" is raised to the rafters at TD Garden before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Bobby Orr applauds, left bottom, as former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara waves to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)