KARACHI: At least eleven more people lost their lives as yet another devastating spell of rain pounded Karachi on Thursday, flooding roads and underpasses, bringing the business, commercial and civic life to a grinding halt.
Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah said Karachi is facing a disaster-like situation, asking the civic agencies including DMCs, DCs and PDMA to remain on high alert and help rescue families trapped in low-lying areas, particularly in Malir and Sukhan neighborhoods.
The knee-down rain water on roads and streets, and prolonged power outages were hampering the relief and rescue activities.
Besides the provincial and city administration, Pak Army, Pakistan Navy, the Paramilitary Rangers and police continued their relief operations to assist the rain affected people in the city.
Flights, and rail operations remained disrupted while traffic police said the urban flooding led to the closure of the KPT underpass in Clifton as well as the Punjab Colony, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad and Ghareebabad underpasses for traffic.
The rainwater continued to make its way into the houses, shops, markets, masques, damaging everything inside, and depriving the people of their valuables.
The main city roads including Shahra-e-Faisal, Korangi Road, Shahra-e-Pakistan, II Chundrigar Road, MA Jinnah Road and University Road, stood inundated all the day long.
A spokesperson for Karachi police said two women and four children died in a suspected roof collapse near Saima Square in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Bodies were shifted to JMPC for medico-legal formalities.
The victims could not be immediately identified.
Rescue sources said a man was electrocuted in Landhi. Another man drowned in the Lyari River near Raxer Lane. His body was shifted to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi. The body of a man was found in a rain drain in Liaquatabad B-1 area, police said.
Pakistan Navy Divers claimed to have recovered two bodies from Shah Faisal Town and Korangi crossing areas while 55 individuals were evacuated from flooded areas of Malir and Korangi crossing. Rescue teams also evacuated 20 families stranded in Sammo Goth and shifted them to safe places.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued instructions to all concerned for taking precautionary measures against possible flooding as per fresh PMD weather Advisory.
Met office recorded the following rainfalls: Faisal Base 136 mm, Nazimabad 113mm, Masroor Base 111mm, Landhi 94mm, Kemari 88mm, Jinnah Terminal 86mm, Saddar, North Karachi 84mm, Surjani 83mm, Saadi Town 81mm, Old Area A/P 78mm, University Road 73mm, Gulshan-e-Hadeed 47mm while Mohenjo-Daro 107mm, Jaccobabad 36mm, Larkana 29mm, Shaheed Benazirabad 28mm, Padidan 25mm, Sukkur 20mm, Mithi 12mm, Thatta 07mm, Dadu 05mm, Mirpur Khas 04mm, Chhor, Hyderabad 02mm during the last 24 hours till Thursday evening.
Television footages show cargo containers floating on the MA Jinnah Road, and Saddar area. Containers were placed ahead of Muharram 8, 9 and 10 processions as a security step.
Railways official said due to heavy rains, 15-Up Karachi Express from Karachi to Lahore and 17 Up Millat Express from Karachi to Faisalabad have been canceled for Thursday. Passengers of these trains will be accommodated in other trains. They have a refund option as well. This decision will also apply to the 16- Down Karachi Express from Lahore to Karachi and the 18-Down Millat Express from Faisalabad to Karachi, said the officials.
Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that current torrential rains have broken the rainfall record of more than 90 years in Karachi and other parts of the province and urged all the stakeholders in the country to contribute towards ameliorating the situation instead of politicizing a pure natural disaster.
He called for well-coordinated emergency steps to control the heavy downpour ravages, its current and aftershocks as nation requires a unified response to a calamity, which humans have no power to overcome overnight.
Federal government should also play its part by contributing efforts without any political point-making because nature has rolled out a litmus test for the nation to display its unity and collective steps.
KE said: "Our teams are working on all rain affected areas. This heavy spell of rain has damaged trees - entangling them in nearby electrical wires, flooded electricity infrastructure and caused severe water logging making areas inaccessible for our MTLs."
The power company requested all concerned departments to ensure rain water is effectively drained in affected areas.
According to a press release issued by KE: Continued heavy rains over several hours have resulted in severe urban flooding across most of Karachi. To ensure safety in submerged and low-lying areas, K-Electric was forced to suspend power to over 900 feeders, while several power installations including substations, grid stations and power plants were also impacted by rising water levels. The power utility remained in close coordination with city authorities to ensure swift drainage in Saddar, KDA Scheme 33, Johar, Surjani, Bin Qasim, Gulshan and other locations as this is a pre-requisite for safe restoration of power supply. The power utility’s KDA grid station, a key transmission site interconnecting with the National Grid also experienced flooding from the overflowing Lath Dam; the power utility is grateful for the urgent support provided by the armed forces and the city administration in addressing this challenge.
While KE teams remained available 24/7, the unprecedented rainfall and waterlogging challenges on roads rendered many areas inaccessible and impeded power restoration efforts creating a force majeure situation for the power utility. These challenges were also shared with the city administration as well as with the power regulator and their urgent support were sought in the resolution of external challenges that affected KE’s service delivery in the best interests of the citizens of Karachi.
In order to keep customers abreast with the developing situation, KE is ensuring regular updates through its customer service platforms including SMS, KE Live App, Facebook, Twitter and website. At the same time to facilitate customers whose bill due dates were falling between 25th and 28th August, KE has extended due dates till 31st August 2020 without any late payment surcharge. The power utility has also continued to urge citizens to stay safe indoors and keep safe distance from power installations. While there have been reports of tragic electrocutions in the city during the rain spells, none may be attributed to KE infrastructure.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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