Karachi reels from torrential rains

KARACHI:

Traffic in Karachi began moving again on Wednesday after authorities managed to drain much of the rainwater that had paralysed the city a day earlier, when a torrential monsoon downpour battered the metropolis and crippled daily life.

The rains, which had so far spared southern parts of the country, struck Karachi on Tuesday with devastating force. Roads turned into rivers, drainage lines collapsed, power supply was cut, and the city’s fragile infrastructure all but caved in under pressure.

By Wednesday morning, officials said the accumulated water had largely receded. The Sindh government had declared a holiday the previous day, and on Wednesday extended the closure of educational institutions through Thursday, as another spell of heavy rain swept across the city.

At least 10 people were reported dead in Karachi — the city of more than 20 million residents — as a result of urban flooding, house collapses, and electrocutions, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

The NDMA’s Emergency Operations Centre warned of “extremely heavy rainfall” in Karachi and other major cities of Sindh, urging precaution as more monsoon systems advance. “Another (rain) spell is to start by the end of the month,” NDMA Chairman Inam Haider Malik said.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast widespread rain, wind, and thundershowers, with scattered heavy to very heavy downpours in central and lower Sindh, as well as in southern Balochistan, on Thursday.

An advisory cautioned that torrential rains could trigger urban flooding in low-lying areas of Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Sajawal, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tando Allayar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Sanghar, and Jamshoro.

The PMD also warned that intense rainfall, windstorms, and lightning may damage vulnerable structures — including kacha houses, billboards, power poles, solar panels, and vehicles – and could set off flash floods in southern districts of Balochistan.

In Balochistan, the department predicted partly cloudy skies with rain and thundershowers in Gwadar, Lasbela, Ormara, Pasni, Kech, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Kalat, Quetta, and Ziarat, with chances of heavy falls in some areas.

(WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES)