Mother, child killed as rain wreaks havoc in low-lying areas of Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi: A 30-year-old woman and her 1-year-old child died when a wall fell on them while asleep in the National Police Foundation during heavy downpour in the city in the wee hours of Thursday. Seven other members of the family were also injured in the incident.

The victims were identified as 30-year-old Sehrish Farhan, 1-year-old Muhammad Shahan while seven others who were injured in the incident were identified as 3-year-old Muhammad Arsaslan, 7-year-old Maha Bibi, 8-year-old Amina Bibi, 10-year-old Muhammad Ibrahim, 10-year-old Abdul Hanan, 12-year-old Meerab Bibi and 18-year-old Esha Bibi. They were evacuated by rescue teams and shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

Rescue 1122 spokesman Muhammad Farooq Butt told 'The News' that all the family members were sleeping in basement when a wall fell over them during torrential rain. “The basement was filled with rainwater. We hardly evacuated other seven people from the basement, he said.

Meanwhile, warning sirens kept on ringing in different parts of the city and cantonment board localities as twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad received 160 mm rain while water level in Nullah Leh touched around 11-feet on New Katarian and 10-feet at Gawalmandi point till the filing of this report on Thursday.

According to Pakistan Meteorological Department, Saidpur received 160 mm rain, Sector H-8 area 123 mm, Shamsabad 114 mm, Golra 59 mm rain and Bokra 24 mm rain which played havoc in the low lying areas.

The rain started around 3:00 am wreaked havoc in different low-lying areas of Arya Muhallah, Nadeem Colony, Javed Colony, Raheemabad, Shah Kahlid, Jan Colony, Rehmatabad, Nasir Colony, Khayaban-e-Tanvir, Dhoke Kala Khan, Gawalmandi, Sadiqabad, Adiala Road, Gulistan Colony, Al-Mumtaz Colony, Tehmasabad, Garibabad and several other areas.

The Rescue 1122 officials, Civil Defence officials, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) officials, MCR officials, police and army jawans reached near Nullah Leh to avoid any untoward situation. They made announcements on loud speakers asking people settled alongside Nullah Leh to vacate their homes and shift to safer localities.

The city district government, Rawalpindi has declared ‘Rain Emergency’ and directed residents settled along Nullah Leh and in low-lying areas to remain on high alert and move to safe places. The residents should adopt precautionary measure because water level in Nullah Leh could touch the dangerous level during heavy rainfall in monsoon.