Karachi receives fresh monsoon showers as intensity likely to ease tonight
KARACHI: Multiple areas of Karachi received fresh monsoon showers on Thursday evening under the influence of the current weather system active over the north Arabian Sea.
In a statement, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that moderatr to heavy rainfall was reported in several parts of the city, including Dalmia Road, Drigh Road, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Gulistan-e-Johar, MA Jinnah Road, Orangi Town, Hawksbay, and Mubarak Village.
Torrential monsoon rains left at least 17 people dead in the densely populated port city in the past two days. The deaths were caused by drowning, road accidents, and electrocution.
The ongoing monsoon activity is expected to continue as the system remains active over the Arabian Sea, the Met Office spokesperson said.
The spokesperson further added that the system is expected to weaken by late tonight, and another monsoon system is likely to enter Sindh from August 27.
“Fresh spell on monsoon system expected to enter Sindh on August 27, which will bring rains to Karachi and other Sindh areas till August 30,” said the spokesperson.
Since the season began in late June, there have been more than 700 monsoon-related deaths, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
CM blames road congestion on public
Speaking on Geo News programme “Geo Pakistan” today, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah apologised to citizens who suffered during Tuesday’s heavy rainfall. “In such heavy rain there will be urban flooding. Karachi flooded, I am saying to everyone we are apologetic, but you cannot press a button and drain all the water immediately,” he said.
CM Murad explained that when the rain intensified, he directed the Commissioner to issue guidance that people remain indoors, but the message did not fully reach the public. “Everybody went out on the street,” he said.
“Yesterday also there was rain, I went out, Sharea Faisal was completely blocked. My request to people is that they should listen to the government,” he added.
He stressed that disaster management required patience and coordination, adding that draining water in five to six hours showed that work had been done effectively. “It is disaster management. You cannot avoid a disaster; you manage a disaster,” he said. “If work had not been done, then how was the water drained in 5–6 hours? Work was done.”
“It takes time. We have to realise you have to manage a disaster; you cannot fight nature. Our mistake was that we should not have let people go out on the road, we should have closed that road,” the CM noted.