Three killed, 15 injured as dust storm wreaks havoc in Karachi

At least three people, including a woman, were killed and over a dozen injured when roofs of houses caved in, walls collapsed, trees and electric poles uprooted and signboards fell in different areas of the city after a strong wind and dust storm accompanied with lightning gripped Karachi on Wednesday evening.

“A westerly trough that gripped entire Balochistan today, resulted in formation of CB cells in areas of Balochistan near Karachi that caused thunder and dust storm in Karachi. Some areas in the outskirts of Karachi also witnessed light rain but most of Karachi was gripped by a strong dust storm, during which strong winds blowing at 35-40 knots or 65-70 kilometres per hour caused damage in the city,” said Sardar Sarfraz, chief meteorological officer at the Pakistan Meteorological Department while talking to The News.

Claiming that it was a short-lived phenomenon which occurred due to hot and humid weather in the city combined with a westerly trough in Balochistan, Sarfraz said light rain and drizzle was reported in the outskirts of the city under its influence and added that more light rain and drizzle was possible under this system.

To a query, he replied that the tropical cyclone Nisarga, which had formed yesterday in the Arabian Sea, had nothing to do with the dust and thunderstorm in Karachi, saying the the tropical cyclone vanished in the Arabian Sea some 750 kilometres away from the coast of Karachi.

During the dust and thunderstorm that originated in the Gadap and Super Highway areas and soon gripped the entire city, several roofs were caved in and walls collapsed, resulting in the deaths of at least three people, including an elderly woman, while around 15 people were injured who were shifted to different health facilities in the city.

Rescue services said a 60-year old woman was killed when the roof of a house collapsed in Saadi Town while two men were also killed and some others injured in Gulshan-e-Maymar and Taiser Town in roof collapse incidents.

According to the Edhi and Chhipa rescue services, at least 15 people were injured as the gale blew down trees, electric poles and sign boards.

Several cars and motorcycles were also damaged in different areas of the city, including Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Surjani Town, Gulshan-e-Maymar and Gulshan-e-Hadeed when electric poles and trees fell on them due to strong winds.

Fire at cattle pen

Several buffalos were burnt alive at cattle pens that caught fire following strong winds in the Surjani Town area of the city, adds Faraz Khan. Responding to the information, fire tenders, police, Rangers and volunteers from welfare organisations reached cattle pens in Surjani Town and started the fire extinguishing work.

According to the fire brigade spokesperson, the fire initially broke out at one of the cattle farms and a house located next to it which later spread to the surrounding cattle farms by the strong winds. The spokesperson said the residents of the area were immediately evacuated in order to protect the lives, added that more fire tenders had to be called at fire site due to the severe intensity of the blaze.

The spokesperson said that the fire brigade faced massive difficulties in the fire extinguishing work due to the suspension of electricity in the area, fast winds and a large quantity of fodder at the cattle farms that provided fuel to the fire.

More than two dozen dairy farms were located in the area where the fire broke out, the spokesperson added. According to Gujjar Dairy Farmers Association official Shakir Ali, the fire caused damage to around 40 cattle farms. According to initial information, around 30 buffalos had been killed in the fire, he said.

The fire brigade was still carrying out extinguishing work till the filing of this story. The area police said they had no idea about the losses due to the blaze as they were waiting for the fire to be doused to ascertain the actual losses.

Power breakdown

Most of the city areas plunged into darkness as soon as the dust storm started, adds our correspondent. The areas where power breakdown occurred included Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, New Karachi, North Karachi, Federal B Area, Orangi Town, Clifton, Defence, Super Highway, Sohrab Goth, Surjani Town, Taiser Town, Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, and many localities in the downtown. Some of the areas were still without power till the filing of this report.

There were also reports of electric poles falling and electric wires breaking in a few areas of the city. A spokesperson for K-Electric (KE) said that after the dust storm and mild rainfall, power was suspended in a few areas of the city as a preventive measure.

Those areas, the spokesperson said, were affected the most due to power cut that had kundas [illegal connections]. “In order to prevent from any untoward incident, the power supply [there] has been suspended,” the spokesperson said, adding that due to the speedy winds, the wires of illegal connections could fall and cost lives as well.

The spokesperson advised the citizens to stay away from broken wires, electric poles and KE’s PMTs. In case of a storm, the spokesperson advised to take special care of the children. “The staff of KE is in the field and trying to restore power as soon as possible.”