Surprise downpour: At least six dead in rain-related incidents

City admin fumbles as rain descends; showers may continue till Monday

HYDERABAD/ KARACHI: As many as six people were killed and dozens wounded in rain-related incidents across the metropolis on Saturday.

In a road accident, 30-year-old Amin Shah, son of Qadir Shah, died after his motorcycle slipped near Lal Kothi in Ferozabad area. Police said the deceased was a resident of Baloch Colony.

Similarly, Asad Anwar, 20, was electrocuted in al-Falah area. Police said Anwar, a resident of Malir, died of shock after he came in contact with an electricity wire. Separately, a forty-year-old woman, Zainab, died after a wall of her house collapsed on her in Shah Faisal Colony.

In another mishap, twelve-year-old Sajawal Khan was killed while Zohaib, son of Mujeeb Khan, and Arif were wounded in Gadap City area. Police said the incident occurred when a wall collapsed on them they were playing.

In the outskirts of the city, Muhammad Yousuf, 14, drowned while bathing in rain water in Sheedi Village Goth in Shah Latif area. In a similar incident, a two-year-old baby girl drowned in a water tank in Orangi Town within the limits of Mominabad police station. The deceased was identified as Hoor, daughter of Pervez.  Meanwhile, nearly 70 people were wounded in rain-related incidents, particularly in traffic accidents due to the rain. Their details could not be obtained by the hospital authorities.

Unprepared admin

The brief but unrestrained showers caught the city administration by surprise.

Hours-long traffic jams were witnessed along with power breakdowns in many parts of the city. Five domestic flights were also delayed due to the rains, said an airport spokesperson.

According to Abdul Rashid, director of Met office, Karachi, sufficient amount rainfall is expected in the city till Monday. “This monsoonal system, which developed over the Pakistan-India border in Rajasthan, resulted in heavy rainfall on Saturday afternoon,” he explained.

The rain recorded at Karachi airport was 54 millimetres (mm), Karachi Old Area Observatory 22.6mm, Landhi 26mm, Gulistan-e-Jauhar 33.5mm, Nazimabad 4.5mm, Gulshan-e-Hadeed 5mm, New Karachi 12mm and Sharae Faisal 10mm. The wind speed was 55 knots, he added.

‘We didn’t know’

According to District Municipal Corporation (DMC) Malir’s Tariq Mughal, he received a message of mild drizzle in the city for this weekend around four days ago. “But the rainfall on Saturday wreaked havoc in Malir,” he said. “Had we been informed earlier, the situation would have been under control.”

DMC East administrator Shafiqur Rehman said the administration was not expecting such heavy rainfall. “It has rained heavily in very little time in some areas,” he said, adding that this has generated flooding in certain areas of districts East and Malir.

Danish Ali, a resident of Shah Faisal Colony, which falls under District East, told The Express Tribune that within half-an-hour, the streets in front of his house were badly flooded. “I spent the entire evening placing sandbags outside my gate to prevent sewage from entering my house,” he said.

Meanwhile, DMC Malir’s Mughal said it took him two hours to reach the troubled sites of the district as he was stuck in a traffic jam at Sharae Faisal. On a question regarding the funds issued by the Sindh government to clean the rain drains, he said Malir has 28 rain drains, 14 of which are huge and were cleaned before the monsoon season. However, he pointed out, the sewerage lines - operated by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) - have been connected to their drains, which has choked them and rainwater has resultantly started accumulating on the roads. He said the dewatering pumps installed in Quaidabad, Malir 15, and Manzil Pump cannot start working until the water flow reduces.

Similarly, DMC East’s Rehman blamed the KWSB’s choked sewage lines for the flooding. He said that Jahangir Road and University Road were already inundated with sewage and the situation became worse after the rain. Captain (retd) Fareeduddin Mustafa, who holds the additional charge of the administrator of DMC Central, said that machines and dewatering pumps have been installed at Café Pyala, Shadman Town and all the underpasses of the district.

Power breakdown

Residents of Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Malir, Shah Faisal Colony, Korangi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, North Nazimabad, New Karachi, Saddar, PECHS, Clifton, DHA and Cantt Station reported power breakdowns in their areas as soon as the downpour began.

According to K-Electric’s communication chief, Fakhar Ahmed, over 250 feeders initially tripped but only 20 now remain to be fixed. “All of Karachi is good to go and we had no major blackout,” he boasted.

Traffic gridlock

Severe traffic jams were witnessed at Sharae Faisal near Drigh Road and Natha Khan Bridge. At National Highway, Malir’s Kala Board, Malir City, Jauhar Chowrangi, Bahria University to Dalmia, Nipa Chowrangi and Vita Chowrangi, traffic movement was extremely slow due to accumulated rainwater on the roads.

Cattle market becomes pool of sludge

The newly-inaugurated cattle market at Sohrab Goth turned into a pool of sludge as strong winds blew away tents, exposing the cattle. The situation in the less privileged blocks was far worse.

According a cattle handler, Alla Ditta, the management is only helping out owners of the VIP block whereas the poor sellers have been left on their own.

The owner of al Hakeen cattle, Salman Ali, said that they spent millions to get proper space for their animals and brought expensive fodder but all of it has been wasted.

Meanwhile, the administrator of the market, Jahangir Allah Rakha, said they are working on an emergency basis to normalise the situation.

Rest of Sindh

The monsoon rain also returned to Jamshoro, Tharparkar, Badin, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Tando Muhammad Khan, Nawabshah, Sanghar and other districts.

According to the Met department, the highest amount of rain by 5pm among these districts was recorded at 25mm in Tharparkar’s Chachro taluka.

Accompanied by strong winds, the downpour broke the cycle of the ongoing hot weather.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2016.