As the skies turned black, residents of Karachi braced themselves for yet another monsoon spell on Thursday. Despite rain being a welcome change in the hot and humid weather, this time people were all too aware that the current burst of heavy rainfall would bring about much disaster. Majority of city remained flooded in knee-deep water while major areas were devoid of electricity for more than 24-hours.
The monsoon season in Karachi has never been this intense. Torrential rains, along with thunder and lightning continuously, battered the city’s shoddy infrastructure and inflicted much damage. News channels showed that a 90-year record had been broken as the PAF base recorded a rain reading of more than 300 millimetres of rain. The city was plunged into darkness and cries of the distressed echoed all throughout the city. Several people died of electrocution, while others drowned in nearby nullahs. Homes were destroyed and people lost their belongings.
This year’s monsoon has finally exposed the negligence of authorities. It is high time that citizens forced the concerned authorities to develop a plan for Karachi’s revival otherwise a catastrophe is eminent.
Rahim Ali
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2020.
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