Karachi to brave heavy rainfall from Wednesday to Friday

Rejecting reports of a storm system hitting Karachi in the coming days, the Pakistan Meteorological Department has, however, forecast heavy rain showers in the city from Wednesday to Friday.

The rain spell may begin on late Tuesday night if the monsoon system reaches the metropolis sooner than expected. “No storm is going to hit Karachi in the coming days, but a rain-causing system entering Pakistan from the Indian state of Gujrat is expected to cause heavy rains in the city and surrounding areas from Wednesday to Friday,” Met Office Karachi director, Abdur Rashid, told The News.

The Met Office in its weather advisory issued to the media, maintains that strong monsoon currents are likely to continue penetrating into the southern parts of the country. Under the influence of this weather system, widespread rain and/or thunderstorm along with gusty winds, even isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in lower Sindh.

The provincial districts expected to experience heavy rain showers during the identified period include Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Karachi divisions, whereas scattered rains are expected in Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad in Sindh and Kalat, Quetta, Sibbi, Zhob and Naseerabad divisions in Balochistan.

The weather advisory report further cautions Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas of urban flooding and eastern Balochistan of flash floods owing to choked storm water drains. Further explaining the weather conditions expected in Karachi, Rashid said the monsoon system moving towards Pakistan’s coastal areas generated in the Bay of Bengal. Cities initially to receive rain are Mithi and Tharparkar from where the system would go on to cause rains in Karachi, he said.

The director has also forecast a hot day in Karachi today as the temperature is expected to rise up to 38 degrees Celsius and that sea breeze would stop blowing prior to the rain. However, there are no chances of any heat wave as temperature would remain below 40 degrees Celsius, whereas the expected rain is going to further bring the temperature down.

Met director’s appeal

Commenting on the various unofficial weather warnings doing the rounds on social media, the Met Karachi director appealed to the people to not circulate unconfirmed messages. “The Met department issues weather advisories twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. And in case of an extraordinary update we simultaneously issue a separate weather advisory. We urge people to visit our website www.pmd.gov.pk and avoid spreading baseless messages from unauthentic sources,” Rashid observed.

Lives at risk

Citizens would be well advised to take any and all precautionary measures as last week’s rain spell left destruction in its wake and claimed at least 17 lives over a period of three days.  On Monday, the first day of the rain spell, police reported at least nine incidents of electrocution and five others of dilapidated structures crushing people. 

Eighteen-year-old Bisma Peer Shah was electrocuted while her sister Iqra and Kazo Bibi were injured when they touched an energised wall in New Rizvia Society. In another incident in New Rizvia Society, 18-year-old Rameez was also electrocuted.

Forty-five-year-old Muhammad Aslam was electrocuted in Block-18 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Sharea Faisal SHO Imtiaz said the incident took place near the water board office where Aslam had stepped into energised rainwater.

Azizabad SHO Tasawar Ameer reported that 45-year-old Kaleemullah Allah Wasaya was electrocuted in Bhangoria Goth, while according to North Nazimabad SHO Khalid Rafique, 45-year-old Fatima Wali Muhammad was electrocuted near the Ismaili jamaatkhana in the locality.

Soldier Bazaar SHO Arz Muhammad reported that motorcyclists Haris Arif, 22, and Mansoor Munaf, 24, died at Garden’s Qalandria Chowk when a live wire fell on them.

Besides electrocution, decrepit structures around the city also wreaked havoc on the people. Sachal SHO Shakir Ali reported that a hitherto unidentified teenage boy died after a signboard fell on top of him in the cattle market at Super Highway.

In another incident in the Sachal police precincts, a hitherto unidentified man appearing to be in his mid-30s was crushed to death when the roof of his house collapsed on top of him.

At the time this report was filed, two more unidentified men were crushed to death when the roof of their dilapidated house at Khyber Chowk in SITE Area’s Metroville locality collapsed on top of them.

On Tuesday, two relatives, 20-year-old Umair Ubaidullah and 25-year-old Ghaus Shaukat, lost their lives when a live wire fell on them, while 45-year-old Javed was electrocuted when he touched an energised wall at his house situated in New Karachi’s Sector 5-D.