11 die as Karachi’s creaky infrastructure crumbles after up to 10 inches of rain

KARACHI/SWABI/ ISLAMABAD: At least eleven people, including children, were killed due to urban flooding after heavy rains lashed Karachi on Tuesday morning.

The deaths occurred due to electrocution and wall collapse.

The rain that started in the morning continued intermittently; the low-lying areas and roads of the city were still under water despite the passage of several hours. The rain has caused water to accumulate on many highways of the city, severely affecting the flow of traffic. Thousands of vehicles got stuck in water. After the rains, several roads began to look like ponds and the water level in the drains also rose. The schoolchildren and other people also got stuck as no traffic was plying on roads.

The fresh rains are likely to continue in Karachi and other districts of Sindh until August 23.

More than 900 feeders across the city tripped and the power supply was suspended in many areas of Karachi, which includes the areas of DHA, District Central and East.

According to Rescue 1122 (Sindh), due to heavy rains, the wall of an apartment situated in Soldier Bazaar No. 1, named Bakshi Apartment, collapsed. In the DHA and North Karachi Sector 5A/3, two persons died due to electrocution. In Gulistan-e-Jauhar, four people died due to the collapse of a house wall, later identified as Maryam, daughter of Afzal, 4; Hamza son of Afzal, 3; Samia, wife of Mubeen, 24; and another unknown person. Moreover, an eight years old child died due to the collapse of a house wall near Khalil Market in Orangi Town.

Authorities are working in rescue and relief operations, while the residents have been asked to avoid coming out of their homes unnecessarily.

Most of the areas that received heavy rains include: Gulistan-e-Jauhar (Block 12) with 212mm, Korangi Area 207mm, Gulshan-e-Roomi 203mm, Gulshan-e-Hadeed 200mm, Malir Saudabad 182mm, Model Colony (Jinnah Avenue) 178mm, New Karachi 165mm, Gulshan-e-Iqbal 156mm, Federal “B” Area (Block 16) 156mm, Federal “B” Area (Block 14) 154mm, North Nazimabad (Block B) 148mm, Gulistan-e-Jauhar (Block 1) 143mm, Karachi Airport (MOS) 138mm, Jinnah Terminal 135mm, Surjani Town (Sector 2) 132mm, Gulistan-e-Jauhar (Block 5) 132mm, North Nazimabad (Block A) 130mm, PIB Colony 128mm, Mehmoodabad 127mm, DHA Phase VI 126.7mm, Clifton (Bath Island) 126mm, Saddar (Burns Road) 126mm, Scheme-33 with 125mm, North Karachi (Iqra University) 122mm, Kharadar Area 122mm, DHA Phase VII with 121mm, PAF Faisal Base with 114mm, Stadium Road with 112mm, Saima Arabian Villas 111mm, Gulshan-e-Maymar 111mm, Kemari Port 108mm, Baldia Town 103mm, Gadap Town (South) 100mm, Seaview Beach (Clifton) 90.4mm, Muaripur (Hawksbay) 90mm, DHA City 86.4mm, Malir Kathore (Superhighway) 86mm, Gulshan-e-Maymar (Jamia-tur-rasheed) 75mm, PAF Masroor Base 75mm, Orangi Town 66mm and Gadap Town (North) 31mm.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. The chief minister apprised the prime minister of the Sindh government’s arrangements during the rains.

Shahbaz expresses condolence over the loss of life and property, and assures Murad of all-out cooperation in emergency situations.

Our Swabi correspondent adds: Meanwhile, six more bodies were recovered from the debris in cloudburst-hit Dalori village in the mountainous region of Gadoon Amazai in Swabi, as Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur vowed to provide all possible assistance to the flood affected people of the district.

The chief minister held a meeting with district administration officials upon arrival in the Swabi.

Talking to the media, the chief minister said the provincial government would give Rs2 million to the family of each dead person and rebuild their houses.

“We are standing with our people in the present critical hour of natural disaster,” he said.

“We will use modern technology to control it so that we can avoid such huge damage and loss of precious lives in the future,” he went on to add.

He said that about 127 people were missing across the province in the recent national disaster.

The Punjab government had returned all the heavy machinery to the KP government, he said, adding, action would be taken against those who blocked the natural waterways and no encroachment would be left.

“I also appeal to the courts that if anyone goes to court against encroachment, they should not be given a stay,” he said.

Meanwhile, rescue operation continued for its second day in Dalori village of Gadoon to pull out the bodies from the debris as their houses were raised to ground due to cloudburst last night.

Commissioner Mardan Division Nisar Khan said that death toll from the floods in Dalori area reached 30.

“We had recovered 20 bodies by Tuesday morning and retrieved 10 more from the rubble of a house later in the day. Efforts are underway to recover the remaining 10 more people who have been missing after the devastating floods triggered by a cloudburst washed away around 20 plus houses,” the commissioner told The News.

Officials said the search for 13 to 14 more individuals trapped under the debris was going on.

The Pakistan Army troops, alongside civil defense organisations and welfare groups were taking part in the rescue operation.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders Asad Qaiser, Shahram Tarakai and others visited the Dalori village in Gadoon.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has issued multiple alerts warning of rising river levels, ongoing monsoon rains, and seismic activity across Punjab.

PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia has urged residents in riverbeds to relocate to safer areas and avoid recreational activities near rivers, canals, and streams.

Meanwhile, briefing the media persons along with Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik in Islamabad, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar expressed government’s determination to further accelerate the rescue and relief efforts in flood-hit areas.

Tarar said the government is dealing this national emergency under a national response and all relevant departments including Armed Forces of Pakistan are working in complete unison in this regard.

The minister informed the media that so far 25,000 people, affected due to floods caused by torrential rains, have been rescued to safer places.

He said 70 percent of the electricity system, damaged severely due to flash flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been restored and Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmed Leghari is personally in the field to supervise the restoration work.

Tarar said the electricity supply to main hospitals in the affected areas is being ensured.

He said the urban flooding inflicted huge human loss and severely damaged property in KP and Gilgit-Baltistan.

He said as per the directives of the prime minister, the relevant ministers are in the affected areas and supervising the rescue and relief operations.

Giving an overview of the relief activities, the NDMA chairman said bodies of many missing people, trapped under the rubble, have been retrieved.

He said Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir is personally focusing on the rescue and relief activities. He said the NDMA has already dispatched two relief convoys carrying relief goods to Swabi, Buner, Malakand, Buner and Shangla.

The NDMA chairman said Pakistan Army teams along with Rescue 1122 and other relevant departments are active and providing relief to the flood victims. He said number of NGOs and welfare organisations have also contributed in the relief activities.

Speaking on the occasion, ISPR DG Lt Gen Chaudhry said as the monsoon started wreaking havoc, all the units of Pakistan Army were mobilised under the special instructions of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

He emphasised that relief and rehabilitation efforts are under way with additional personnel deployed to support the relief activities. He said eight units of infantry and FC are in the field to help the victims.

The ISPR DG said two engineering battalions, one each in KP and Gilgit-Baltistan, have been deployed to restore damaged roads and bridges. So far, multiple bridges have been repaired.

He said army aviation has also been mobilised to airlift people stranded in the affected areas and distribute cooked meal and ration among the flood-affected people.

He said Pakistan Army rescue teams have successfully evacuated more than six thousand people and provided medical treatment to 6,304 patients in flood-affected areas.

Lt Gen Chaudhry said a total of 585 tonnes of ration have been allocated for flood-hit populations, from Army reserves, as directed by the Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

He said in Buner, Swat and Shangla, two battalions each have been deployed, while Frontier Corps wings are active in Bajaur and a company in Swabi.

The ISPR DG said relief logistics are bolstered as 2,500 tonnes of ready-to-eat ration stock is available. He said with an additional 5,000 tonnes stocks are available at the Nowshera base for immediate deployment.

He said infrastructure restoration is also underway. In KP, 90 roads were damaged. Nine roads have been fully restored and partial repairs have been completed at eighty-six locations. Forty percent restoration work on main bridge linking Timergara and Bajaur has been completed.

The Karakoram Highway, blocked at eight points, has been fully cleared now. Restoration work continues at Astore bridges and along the Jaglot-Skardu Road.

The ISPR DG said in Gilgit-Baltistan, the engineering brigade has repaired multiple bridges and is working to reopen roads in Shangla and Buner.

He said that the Signals Unit, in coordination with Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited, has restored 16 BTS towers to support emergency communications.

He said three Army medical units are operating nine medical camps in KP and GB, where they have provided treatment to over 6,300.

He said urban search and rescue teams are active in Buner, supported by two medical battalions.

Lt Gen Chaudhry said medical teams from Combined Military Hospital and Military Hospital have also been deployed to provide continuous care in Buner, Shangla and Swat. He said one engineering brigade is currently present at Kanju, Swat, to assist the relief work.