Hapless citizens run helter-skelter as downpour floods Karachi for a second day

People ran helter-skelter in search of shelter as the pre-monsoon downpour lashed Karachi for a second consecutive day on Thursday. With two children’s drownings and a man’s electrocution, the death toll due to rain since Wednesday has hit six.

Vehicles broke down and left commuters stranded on flooded roads across the metropolis, as pedestrians took cover at filling stations and under nearby large structures, bringing routine life to a standstill once more.

All the thoroughfares were inundated with rainwater and many parts of the city plunged into darkness once the downpour began, as, keeping up with its long tradition, the K-Electric’s delicate power distribution system failed all over again.

The Karachi director for the Pakistan Metrological Department, Abdur Rashid, has forecast more rains in the metropolis on Friday (today), saying that the current spell would continue until late at night.

Victims of rainfall

With three victims on Wednesday, the toll of rain-related deaths hit sixon Thursday when three more people, including two minor boys, were killed in separate incidents.

Two children drowned on Thursday while bathing in the rainwater accumulated on the site of an under-construction underpass at Submarine Chowrangi. Clifton SP Assad Malhi said the residents of P&T Colony, mostly children, bathed in the submerged underpass.

He said the police received information regarding the children’s drownings through social media at 5:15pm, adding that he directed the Gizri police to verify the social media reports.

Malhi said rescue workers fished out the bodies of 13-year-old Aftab Amjad and 12-year-old Ghulam Mustafa Yaseen, adding that they were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

The locals staged a demonstration against the government when the bodies were handed over to the heirs after their autopsies. The protesters said the contractor should have cordoned off the construction site and installed warning signboards.

In another incident, a man was electrocuted in Shah Faisal Colony No 5 as the heavy rainfall ripped down electricity cables and seeped into power sockets in many localities.

Separately, an eight-year-old boy fell unconscious when he suffered an electric shock at Khilafat Chowk in Paposh Nagar. SHO Arshad Janjua said Salman was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

The locals said the electrical wires had ripped down in their area following the start of the pre-monsoon rain on Wednesday, but their complaints remained unattended. They demanded registering a case of negligence against the KE.

On Wednesday 16-year-old Gul Nawaz was electrocuted while passing through a street in Docks Colony, 18-year-old Babar Ali Dino was electrocuted near the Maula Madad bus stop in the Chakiwara police precincts and a youth named Daniyal was electrocuted near Dabba Morr in Orangi Town.

A messy metropolis

Due to the downpour since Thursday evening, all major roads of the city were flooded. A large number of vehicles broke down and caused massive traffic jams.

A snarl-up was witnessed on the main Sharea Faisal following the first rain spell on Thursday, but the downpour the metropolis received since the evening worsened the traffic situation on the city’s busiest artery.

Others thoroughfares such as II Chundrigar Road, University Road, Shahrah-e-Pakistan, Shahrah-e-Quaideen, Jahangir Road, MA Jinnah Road, Manghopir Road and Qasba Colony Road were also inundated.

Meanwhile, the low-lying areas of the city were also flooded. Rainwater in such localities entered the houses and mosques, adding to the miseries of the locals. A newly built underpass at Golimar was submerged in rainwater, as houses and mosques in KBR Society near Gujjar Nullah were also flooded.

The game of power

While large swathes of the city plunged into darkness amid reports of more than 400 feeders having tripped after the downpour, the KE issued a statement claiming that its systems were operating properly.

The KE’s rapid response team maintained strict vigilance on Thursday as the metropolis experienced another spell of monsoonal showers, claimed the spokesperson for the power company, according to Geo News.

The spokesman maintained that the overall power supply system remained intact on the second day of rains as very few feeders were affected and were re-energised swiftly. Moreover, uninterrupted power supply to strategic installations, including the Karachi airport, major hospitals and Dhabeji was also ensured, added the power utility.

According to the KE, the utility’s helpline and ground teams continued to work round the clock to address any localised faults. KE continued to urge the public to stay away from broken wires, poles and transformers during the monsoon season.

The consumers were also requested to inform the power utility of any broken wires or complaints by calling on 118 or 021-99000. Queries may also be sent via SMS to 8119 or through the KE’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Downpour’s statistics

As a rain emergency was declared across Karachi, the Met Office released the statistics of Thursday’s downpour: Gulshan-e-Hadeed received the most rainfall (30mm), followed by the airport (24mm), University Road (19.6mm), PAF Base Faisal (17mm) and Nazimabad
(11mm).

Meanwhile, the director of the Met Office confirmed to Geo News that their website had been hacked. The official said incidents like this usually occurred in an emergency situation.

100 dangerous buildings

The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has declared 100 dilapidated buildings, mostly situated in the Saddar and Lyari Towns, as dangerous.

An SBCA spokesman said the authority, keeping in the view the heavy pre-monsoon showers, had posted warning notices on the main entrances of the dangerous buildings and requested their residents to immediately evacuate them.

The spokesman added that an emergency centre was established at the SBCA in Civic Centre and all the directors of the authority were put on high alert.