As many as nine people, including a woman and her four children, lost their lives in different rain-related incidents after heavy downpour lashed the twin cities on Monday. A woman and her four children died in Sihala area where their mud house collapsed.
The house caved-in at about 4:30am as the children and the woman were in the room while the woman’s husband was sleeping in the courtyard.
According to the Sihala police, Muhammad Altaf, a native of Azad Kashmir, took the bodies of his wife Malika Bibi, 40, his seven years old son Faizan, his nine years old daughter Saliha Bibi and two other unidentified children to his native village for burial.
Hammad Ali, a police constable fell in Leh near Ganjmandi bridge while saving a four-year-old child. The staff of Rescue 1122 till the filing of this report, was searching for the body of the constable.
Zainullah, 22, drowned while taking a bath in the drain near Hazara Colony. His body was fished out from Leh near Jhanda Chichi.
In a separate incident Kamran, 20, could not cross the fast flowing Leh near Ratta Bridge after he along with his cousin Shahid bet to swim across the swollen drain. His body was recovered by the locals from Gawalmandi.
Moreover, Nawaz Ali, 5, a child of a gypsy family living at the bank of Leh was swept away by the flood waters. His body was retrieved from the area of Moti Mahal.
The rain kept the rescue authorities and the people living in low lying areas near Leh, the main drain meandering through the garrison city, for the second time in the monsoon season, after the water level reached the dangerous level in the drain on Monday.
“Water level in Leh near New Katarian was as high as 5.2 meters (17 feet) and about 4 meters (13 feet) at Gawalmandi point. The alert level is 5.2 meters (17 feet) and the rescue authorities were put on high alert second time in one week,” said Deeba Ali spokesperson for the Rawalpindi emergency service ‘Rescue 1122’.
According to Meteorology office, Islamabad received 50 millimetres rainfall and Rawalpindi 54mm.
The rain continued intermittently from morning till afternoon and kept the authorities of Rescue 1122, Civil Defence, municipal administration and health department on alert.
The district authorities sought the help of army to cope with any emergency situation as the level of water in Leh is as high as 7 meters (20 feet).
The army has set up a temporary relief camp in Gordon College to meet any emergency in the city during monsoon season.
The rainwater inundated the low lying areas of Javaid Colony, Dhoke Khabba and streets of the city areas. The small drains overflowed and flooded the streets in the areas of Raja Bazaar, Bagh Sardaran, Satellite Town and Sadiqabad.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2011.
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