Pre-dawn rain and hail leave Karachi gaping

Karachi received a cold shock in the early hours of Monday as the sudden rumble of thunder was followed by the first rain of this winter season, but the downpour was coupled with a doubly unexpected hailstorm.

“A rain system that developed in the Gulf of Oman was expected to reach Karachi on Tuesday, but it reached early Monday morning and caused the first winter rain together with hailstorm,” Met Office Karachi Director Abdur Rashid told The News.

Rashid said the rain was surprising, but the hailstorm was even more startling. He said that the last time the metropolis had witnessed a hailstorm was back in 2013, adding that although it was an unusual phenomenon for the city, it had received occasional hailstorms in the past.

“Hails or pellets of ice the size of eyeballs started falling from the sky in the wee hours, followed by a short but heavy spell of rain in the PECHS area,” said Arshia Ahmed, a young student who collected the balls of hail in a bowl and filmed them with her mobile phone. “This was my first such experience.”  

Electricity

Power cuts were reported from many parts of the metropolis, especially the old city areas, including Saddar, Garden, Soldier Bazaar, Guru Mandir, Orangi Town, Jamshed Quarters, Liaquatabad, New Karachi, Landhi, Korangi, Malir and Memon Goth.

The report suggested that electricity outages occurred after the first drop of

rain and that the affected localities remained without power for several hours, while in some areas the electricity supply had not been restored until the filing of this story.

The K-Electric, however, said power supply across the metropolis remained normal despite the rain and hailstorm, claiming that its rapid response team maintained strict vigilance during the small hours. A spokesman for the company said the overall power infrastructure remained intact during the rain spell.

“During the rain and hailstorm, a few localised faults emerged in some parts of Nazimabad, Orangi, Liaquatabad, Korangi and Landhi, which the KE teams attended and rectified in the shortest possible time. Power supply to strategic installations, including key hospitals, the KWSB’s water pumping stations and the airport, remained uninterrupted.”

Schools

Some schools texted parents to advise them against sending their children to their respective institutions, while most schools and other educational institutions remained open without any disruption in routine activities, as the downpour had ended in the early hours.

Statistics

Saddar received the highest amount of rainfall (12.7mm), followed by Landhi (11mm), North Karachi (9.6mm), PAF Base Faisal (9mm), Jinnah International Airport (8.4mm), University Road (4.4mm) and PAF Base Masroor (4mm).

The Met Office said that there was no further chance of rain in the city because the system responsible for causing downpour and hailstorm had passed, but it did not rule out the chances of more rains in the current season.

Weather officials said that although Karachi received fewer rains as compared to other parts of the country, the metropolitan city could still witness a couple of more spells in the following weeks.  

Traffic jams

Many commuters were stuck in snarls-up at many roads, intersections and roundabouts early in the morning. People complained of severe traffic jams on Sharea Faisal, the internal roads of Saddar, MA Jinnah Road, Shahrah-e-Pakistan, University Road and many other major and minor roads across the metropolis due to accumulation of rainwater.