Heavy rains wreak havoc in Karachi again, kill five

KARACHI: The latest spell of rain in Karachi, forecast to linger till Tuesday in the coming week, submerged the metropolis on Friday, killing five people.

Prolonged downpours resulted in nullahs overflowing and drains getting blocked, with rainwater resultantly entering residential areas. In many cases, up to waist-deep water was reported across Surjani Town, North Karachi, Orangi Town and dozens of adjoining informal settlements.

According to The News, the northern parts of the city received an unprecedented 186mm of rain, which resulted in areas such as Surjani Town, North Karachi, Orangi Town, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad paralyzed and their main roads and localities quickly turned into septic tanks.

The MET Department said Surjani Town received 186mm of rain in a matter of a few hours, followed by 106mm in the adjoining North Karachi and Nazimabad areas. It forecast that intermittent rain would continue throughout Saturday evening with moderate to heavy showers.

Another heavy rain spell is expected to hit lower Sindh, including Karachi, in the coming week from Monday to Wednesday, the Met Office warned.

It has also warned of urban flooding and advised people and authorities to exercise due caution and preparedness as heavy showers could further aggravate the situation in different parts of the economic hub.

At least five people were killed in the metropolis in rain-related incidents, rescue services officials said. Two teenagers died when they were hit by lightning in Memon Goth, while two others were electrocuted and one teenager was swept away by the ferocious currents of the surging currents of Lyari River

Surjani and the adjoining areas, which bore the brunt of the heavy showers, were also flooded in addition to the overflowing Hub Canal which brings water to Karachi from the Hub Dam. It submerged roads and the water entered into some residential projects near the Northern Bypass and the Noorani Hotel.

The situation was not any different in Orangi Town, Manghopir, Baldia Town and Frontier Colony, where sewage-mixed rainwater swamped houses after the heavy downpour. The shops and warehouses in some of these areas had kept edibles stored, which were seriously damaged by the raging four to five feet deep water.

The heavy downpour caused the recently cleared Gujjar Nullah to once again overflow, which not only inundated roads but also damaged properties, leaving the residents afflicted with deep misery. In the area, one could see dozens of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles submerged in four to five feet deep.

The rain also left commuters stranded for hours on the main thoroughfares, including Sharah-e-Pakistan, Rashid Minhas Road, Shershah Soori Road, Siddiq Wahab Road, Shahrah-e-Usman Ramz, Shahrah-e-Shah Waliullah and others.

Dozens of motorists and bike riders were found pushing their vehicles while wading through the water.

Power woes

With rain came power outages, leaving North Karachi, Surjani, Manghopir, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad and adjoining areas without power as the first drop of rain fell in the city.

Almost 200 K-Electric feeders tripped, with many areas reporting transmission faults as early as 2 pm.

The city’s sole power provider said they had to shut down electricity to Orangi Town, Sohrab Goth, North Nazimabad, North Karachi, Liaquatabad, Baldia town due to waterlogging.