Two children among three killed, major roads flooded as heavy rains lash city

A strong monsoon system formed in the Arabian Sea caused heavy rains in different parts of Karachi on Sunday evening, but it also resulted in the deaths of three people, including two minors.

Police said a woman and her three-month-old daughter fell into a flooded nullah in the Buffer Zone area as they were passing through on a motorbike, adding that while the woman was rescued in an unconscious state, the search for her daughter was still under way.

Officials said that 16-year-old Raju, son of Hashim Shaikh, was struck by lightning in Malir’s Jam Mahar Ali Goth, adding that he was immediately taken to a nearby private hospital, where the doctors pronounced him dead, following which his body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

The Mominabad police said that 28-year-old Farhan, son of Khalid, was electrocuted to death at his shop in Orangi Town, adding that his body was taken to the JPMC.

Submerged roads

The much-dreaded spell of monsoon rains wreaked havoc on the city and, as usual, inundated all the major thoroughfares, which caused severe traffic jams for hours.

Rainwater submerged Sharea Faisal at different points and slowed the traffic’s movement. Rainwater also disrupted the traffic’s movement on Drigh Road. University Road in the Safari Park area was completely inundated, halting the traffic’s movement for hours due to the presence of large potholes as well.

Nipa, Abul Hassan Ispahani Road and parts of Gulshan were also submerged by rainwater. The situation in District Korangi worsened after most of the localities in the district were flooded. Korangi No. 1 and its adjoining areas were inundated, while the damaged roads brought the traffic’s movement to a complete stop. A citizen named Imran Athar was making his way from Korangi towards Shah Faisal and was stuck for hours in the area due to rainwater.

Parts of Rashid Minhas Road were also submerged and stopped the traffic’s movement for hours. Rainwater gathered at Shafiq Morr and slowed down the traffic’s movement, but Nagan Chowrangi remained usable until the filing of this story.

Due to the presence of rainwater, the Submarine Underpass was closed for traffic, according to the traffic police. Meanwhile, rainwater also disrupted the traffic’s movement on Korangi Road.

‘Drains working’

Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab told the media that rainwater did not accumulate in large quantities at any point in the city, while the traffic continued to move. He said that as a precautionary measure, they had deployed heavy machinery at different thoroughfares of the city, especially in the low-lying areas.

Wahab said the local government’s workforce was on standby and monitoring the rain situation. He pointed out that the storm water drains of the city were working normally, saying that Sharea Faisal and all the other thoroughfares were clear.

Rain statistics

According to the Pakistan Metrological Department’s (PMD) data, the highest amount of rain in Karachi was recorded at 59mm in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, followed by 34mm in Quaidabad, 32.8mm in Orangi Town, 31mm each at the Jinnah Terminal and in Saadi Town, 29.5mm in the old airport area and 23.5mm in Korangi.

Moreover, 23mm rain was recorded on Sharea Faisal, 20mm in Nazimabad, 18mm each at the PAF Base Masroor and in North Karachi, 16mm in Keamari, 15mm in DHA, 12.5mm at the Met Office on University Road, 10mm in Gadap Town and less than 3mm in Saddar and in Surjani Town.

Power situation

Residents of the Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Scheme 33, Malir, Quaidabad, Bin Qasim, Korangi, Landhi, Clifton, Defence, II Chundrigar Road, MT Khan Road, Keamari and Gulshan-e-Iqbal areas among others complained of power breakdowns. In some areas electricity was restored after a while, but some were still without power until the filing of this report.

According to K-Electric, power supply to most areas of the city continued during the current spell of rains. The KE spokesman said power was being supplied to the city through 1,750 of the 1,900 feeders.

He said that around 150 feeders had been shut down for safety, mostly in the areas with high concentration of Kundas (illegal connections) and electricity thefts. He requested the citizens to maintain a safe distance from all the electrical installations, and advised them to register their urgent complaints through KE’s call centre (118), social media channels, KE Live app and SMS service (8119).

More showers

“Under the influence of a depression [intense low-pressure area] over the Northeast Arabian Sea and the adjoining Gulf of Kutch, different areas of Karachi received moderate to heavy showers,” Sindh’s chief meteorological officer Dr Sardar Sarfaraz told The News. “More showers, including some heavy falls, are also expected on Monday [today].”

Dr Sarfaraz said that the low-pressure area that converted into a depression moved in the west-north-west direction with a speed of 10 kilometres per hour during the past 12 hours, and now lay at a distance of about 160km south of Karachi and 140km from Thatta.

“The maximum sustained surface wind is 50-55 km/hour around the system centre. The system is likely to move westward [towards the Oman coast]. Under the influence of this weather system, rain with wind or thunderstorms with a few heavy to very falls are likely in Karachi.”

He said that similar situations can be expected in Sindh’s Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Dadu and Jamshoro districts, and Balochistan’s Lasbela, Uthal, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwani, Turbat, Awaran and Ketch areas.

“Heavy rains may trigger waterlogging or urban flooding in the low-lying areas of Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Dadu, Jamshoro and Kambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh, and Lasbela, Uthal, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Jiwani, Turbat, Awaran and Ketch in Balochistan.”

The officer said wind storms might cause damage to loose and vulnerable structures, adding that the PMD’s Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre in Karachi was closely monitoring the system, so updates would be issued accordingly. He requested all the relevant authorities to remain vigilant.