Rain wreaks havoc in parts of Sindh and Balochistan, triggers flood fears

At least five people drowned while 49 others were rescued as rains, flash floods hit Balochistan’s Harnai district over the weekend.

The floods also swept away vehicles in their path. Five cars have been recovered so far, the district’s administration said.

Rains caused flooding in canals in Uthal, a city in Balochistan’s Lasbela District. Flood waters entered nearby villages, forcing residents to migrate to safety. The flood waters also interrupted traffic on the Uthal Lakhra road.

Meanwhile, flood water from nearby mountains caused severe flooding in Dadu’s Gaj river. The river’s water level has touched 18 ft (maximum level is 27 ft).

The Johi Wahi Pandi road was inundated at two places, because of which nearby villages including Drigh Bala and Gorakh hill station lost ground contact with Johi.

Flooding in the Gaj river is also likely to lift water level of Lake Manchar.

Persistent rain has also started to fill up Hub dam. According to the dam’s administration, the water level has increased by 18 ft to reach 292.2 ft. The total capacity of the dam is 339 ft, after which the water from the dam has started to overflow.

On the bright side, Karachi has been able to stock up on water for a year’s needs, experts said.

Following two days of rain in Karachi, water still remains on the roads in several parts of the metropolis and many areas are still without electricity.

Light rain has been forecast in Karachi for today. Interior Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Qalat, Sibi, Naseerabad, Quetta, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir are expected to get rain as well.

At least 21 people have died in separate rain-related incidents in Karachi and interior Sindh since Friday evening.

The rain began on Friday evening and continued intermittently till Saturday afternoon, leaving 50 percent of Karachi in darkness, as around 250 feeders of K-Electric out of a total of 1,400 were tripped.

Rescue and government officials said around 14 deaths were reported in Karachi from electrocution or roof collapse incidents in low-lying areas while another seven were killed in Badin, Mithi and Thatta in interior Sindh.

The showers also resulted in massive traffic jams and gridlocks in various parts of the city.