Intermittent rains under the influence of a monsoonal system continued in Karachi on the second consecutive day on Saturday, which added to the miseries of people, especially in northern areas of the city, where roads and streets remained inundated after downpour a day earlier.
“Different areas of Karachi received light to moderate rain on Saturday evening under the influence of a monsoonal system that is present in the area and causing intermittent rains in southern Sindh. More rain is expected on Saturday night and on Sunday with some heavy falls that can result in inundation of roads and low-lying areas in the city,” said Abdul Qayyum Bhutto, the Met director in Karachi, while talking to The News.
On Saturday, Surjani Town received around 16.5 millimeters of rain, which added to the miseries of people as water had not receded from different sectors after Friday’s unprecedented 186mm of rain that had devastated the area, damaged property and personal belongings of people after water entered homes.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department said rain with thundershower was expected in Karachi over the next 48 hours, with some moderate to heavy falls that may generate urban flooding. It said rains were expected to continue till August 28 under the influence of back-to-back low pressure areas or rain-causing systems.
“Two back-to-back low pressure areas in eastern Sindh and central India are likely to interact and cause moderate to heavy rains in lower Sindh, including Karachi, for the next four to five days. Some heavy falls could result in urban flooding and inundation of low-lying areas,” an official of the PMD said.
The Landhi area of the city received the heaviest amount of rainfall on Saturday where 18mm of rain was recorded, PMD officials said, adding that Gulshan-e-Hadeed received 17mm of rain, Surjani Town 16.5mm, Saddar 12mm, North Karachi 9.6 mm, Kemari 8mm, Jinnah Terminal 7mm while Sharea Faisal and other areas received 5mm or less rain on Saturday.
Flooded areas
A visit to Surjani Town’s various sectors showed that roads and streets were still inundated with sewage-mixed rainwater and people were trapped inside their homes as the entire sectors were submerged in waist-deep water.
In Sector 4B of Surjani Town, people used inflated boats and tyre tubes to get out of their homes as waist-deep water entered homes and damaged furniture and household items in some areas. Volunteers of welfare organisations helped people in getting out of their homes and moving to safer locations.
Many people migrated to other areas of the city and moved to their relatives’ residences, as their homes and streets remained flooded with sewage-mixed water and electricity remained absent. A large number of people could not get out of their abodes.
Several others areas in North Karachi, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Orangi Town and the adjoining areas also remained flooded, while in many areas, cars, motorcycles and other vehicles were badly damaged following Friday’s rains.
Pakistan Army personnel were seen clearing the KDA Chowrangi, where rainwater had accumulated and continued to rise after Saturday’s rain, while several areas and streets around Café Piyala and Gulberg remained inundated with sewage after the Gujjar Nullah and other drains overflowed.
Water also accumulated on several roads, including Shershah Soori Road, Sharah-e-Shah Waliullah, Rashid Minhas Road and in various internal roads of New and North Karachi, while in some areas, Rangers and volunteers of welfare organisations were seen clearing rainwater and sewage from the roads.
Persisting power outages
Electricity outages continued in vast city areas after Friday’s rain and several areas of northern Karachi, including Surjani Town, Manghopir, and New and North Karachi, remained without electricity.
People had to move to other areas of the city due to prolonged power breakdowns.
Citizens in several sectors of Surjani Town, North Karachi, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad, Orangi Town, Manghopir, Baldia Town and Frontier Colony said that despite lodging several complains with the K-Electric, power to their areas had not been restored till Saturday evening, and they were also facing water shortages.
Over 600 feeders of the K-Electric tripped following Saturday’s brief but heavy rai, which also deprived large areas of electricity and till the filing of this report, several areas in old city, including Garden, Solider Bazaar and Saddar, were facing power outages.
The K-Electric said outages happened in different areas of the city on Saturday but its teams were working to restore electricity.