Thunderstorm on second consecutive day cripples Karachi

Tuesday night's heavy rain spell leaves half the metropolis inundated with water

KARACHI: The heavy downpour on Tuesday night left almost all the citizens in surprise after they again witnessed a heavy rain spell with thunder and lightning, which was both scary and entertaining for everyone.

However, much to everyone's disappointment the 33mm rainfall also caused chaos in the city. Various areas of the metropolis again got flooded with rain water. The areas that were inundated with water included parts of Malir, Keamari, Korangi, North Nazimabad, Orangi, Baloch Colony.



Much to everyone's disappointment the 33mm rainfall also caused chaos in the city. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS

A resident of Malir, Shafi Ahmed Khan, claimed that despite multiple complains and media coverage on the matter of old and ineffective drainage system in Malir and dilapidated roads, no action was taken by municipal authorities. "Pakistan Peoples Party has won [the elections] from here, however, even then we are being neglected for no reason," he said. According to Khan, after the rainfall the condition of roads become worse, making it very difficult for motorcyclists and for cars.

Khan added that Malir is one of the oldest areas in the city and is well designed with wider roads, however, the negligence of muncipal authorities has made the lives of the residents miserable. "Many of us are considering shifting to other parts of the city because due to the ignorance from the past and present government, Malir now looks more like a rural part of this urbanised city," he added.

On the other hand, Malir District Municipal Corporation chairperson Jan Muhammad Baloch shared that he is not being supported by the mayor and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, whereas the provincial government has supported us by providing funds.



According to Baloch, the issue is that the development work in the area has been at a halt for years and it will take time for him to start the work in the area. He added that work on cleaning drains was started even before the recent rain spell, through the support of provincial government. However, they could not finish cleaning of drainage system in Malir before the monsoon, which has caused the problems.

Pakistan Meteorological Department spokesperson shared that the rainfall system will lose its intensity by late Wednesday night. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS

Meanwhile, Local Bodies Minister Jam Khan Shoro claimed that he has directed all the officials to be present on areas which are flooded with water. He added that he himself is continuously visiting several areas of the city in order to see how the work is being carried out. Shoro added that they were prepared, which is the reason why no underpass or main thoroughfares were inundated with water. However, he added, that for the internal areas, rescue work is under way.

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar also shared similar views and expressed that officials of KMC are working in areas which are inundated with rain water and soon the citizens will get rid of the water. The mayor added that KMC, with its limited powers and resources, is keen to serve the people of the city.

Weather update

Pakistan Meteorological Department spokesperson Abdul Rashid shared that according to them, the rainfall system will lose its intensity by late Wednesday night.

However, he added that monsoon is not over yet and city may get to see another spell of rain in coming days. The spokesperson added that on Tuesday night, 33mm of rain was recorded on University Road, which was the highest in the city.

Power breakdown and water woes

Following the thunderstorm late Tuesday night, more than 250 feeders tripped in the metropolis, including the grid station in Defence Housing Authority.



However, according to K-Electric (K-E) Communication Director Sadia Dada, some of the feeders were restored within a few hours while the remaining feeders were restored after the rain water was drained out from the surrounding of feeders late Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, she said, all the feeders were re-energised, including the affected grid station after the heavy rainfall. She further added that many trees and signboards also fell on K-E's power lines, causing disruption in supply. Dada urged the public to stay away from broken wires and refrain from taking shelter under transformers or leaning against poles during rainy and windy weather and avoid using kundas.

On the other hand, an 18-inch diameter water pipeline got damaged near Sakhi Hasan Chowrangi due to development work of Green Line Bus Rapid Transit project. According to the spokesperson of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, the maintenance work has been initiated to repair the damaged part after closing the supply of water. According to him, it will take a few hours to complete the repair work and restore water supply to the residents.

Additional input by our correspondent