Fresh rain spell hits Karachi

12 Sep, 2022

Several areas of Karachi reported heavy rains on Monday, breaking the spell of sweltering heat but also triggering a fresh wave of fear of waterlogging and urban flooding in the city.

North Karachi, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, North Nazimabad, New Karachi Buffer Zone, Surjani Town, Bahria Town, Gurumandir, Saddar, Clifton, and Karsaz saw heavy downpours.

Parts of southern Sindh likely to receive rain: PMD

Earlier, the Met Office forecast fresh rain spell after resumption of monsoon currents. Fresh weather system is likely from September 11 to 14 in upper and central parts of the country, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had said in its weather report on Sunday.

The PMD added that the weather will remain clear, hot and humid in central and upper Sindh.

In July, Karachi witnessed urban flooding due to monsoon rains that usually create havoc in the city, as water accumulates in low lying areas and roads, while power supply to different areas is suspended.

Pakistan is currently reeling from the worst floods in decades from a record monsoon and glacial melt in the north that have impacted 33 million people and killed at least 1,391, washing away homes, roads, railways, livestock and crops.

On Monday, Pakistan Army and authorities of Dadu district built a barrier around the Dadu Grid Station in a bid to save it from flooding.

On Sunday, flash flooding had posed a renewed threat in Sindh as flood water was on the verge of entering Dadu Grid Station, which supplies electricity to millions of people in the vicinity.

There are at least three points in Dadu district where the Indus Highway is submerged, with traffic suspended for weeks, while Pakistan’s other highway connecting the north and south has also been badly hit by the flood waters.

Pakistan estimates the cost of the damage at $30 billion, and both the government and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have blamed the flooding, extreme weather and resulting devastation on climate change.

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