Five more killed as rain plays havoc in Karachi for second day

KARACHI:

At least five more people were killed due to electrocution and structural collapse as the ongoing monsoon spell turned many roads in Karachi into rivers of filthy rainwater and left many houses and shops flooded on Monday. The Sindh government, though, insisted that the situation "could have been worse."

Two labourers were electrocuted to death at a marble factory in Mowach Goth. According to Mochko SHO Waseem, four workers were trying to drain rainwater from the factory with a suction pump when they were electrocuted. Two of them, identified as Muhammad Moosa, 45, and Waheed, 30, died on the spot.

Separately, a man received an electric shock and died while turning on a water pumping machine in Orangi Town. According to Pakistan Bazaar SHO Iqbal Tunio, the deceased, identified as Muhammad Rafiq, 45, was handed over to the family after the completion of medico-legal formalities.

Eighteen years old Waleed, who went to Sohrab Goth cattle market with his elder brother and friends died on the spot due to broken electricity wire.

Moreover, a young man, 20-year-old Majid, died after a wall collapsed on him near Gujjar nullah. With the collapse, rainwater also rushed into the house, flooding it.

As many as 10 people, including a child, have died in the last two days of rainfall in the city.

A tale of two cities

While half the city saw heavy downpours and thunderstorms on the day, the weather remained hot and sunny in the rest of the metropolis.

In some parts of Karachi, the rain began in the afternoon and continued in intervals over the next few hours. A total of 120 millimetres of rain was recorded in the city, with Nazimabad seeing the highest at 34mm.

The deluge resulted in urban flooding in several parts of the provincial capital, with rainwater mixed with filth and garbage from overflowing drains even entering houses and shops in some areas, destroying the goods inside.

Videos on social media also showed cars floating away on inundated roads, while people waded through waist-high - or in some instances, chest-high - water. Several roads were resultantly closed for traffic.

Dow University of Health Sciences also saw its out-patient departments (OPDs) inundated with water, as water poured out of the switchboards as well. Meanwhile, the OPD, administrative block and grounds of another hospital at KDA Chowrangi were submerged too.

Lights out

Much of West and Central districts also saw their power supply disrupted immediately after the downpour began. Orangi Town, Malir, Lyari, Korangi, Keamari, Liaquatabad, Saeedabad and Baldia Town were among the worst hit, being left without electricity until late into the night.

While citizens blamed the outages on tripped feeders, broken cables and other technical faults, the K-Electric (KE) administration claimed the power supply was suspended as a precautionary measure, to avoid any untoward incidents.

'Could be worse'

In the face of the monsoon devastation, Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, visiting different areas of the city, defended the provincial government and called it a "natural calamity," adding that even developed countries were affected by heavy rainfall.

"The Sindh government has been implementing emergency [rainfall] measures under a comprehensive, integrated policy for several months. The situation is not 100 per cent, but at least we are in the field with our people," he stated.

Claiming that "evil elements" were "slandering" the government on social media, he added that if the provincial government had not taken timely steps to clean storm drains, the situation could have been even worse.

Leaders of other political parties, though, lambasted the Sindh government, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Karachi president Khurrum Sher Zaman claiming that the situation spoke volumes about the Sindh government's performance.

"The Sindh government should admit to its incompetence and apologise to the people, who are struggling while the ministers sleep," he stated. "Cars wouldn't have been floating in the rainwater if the nullahs had been cleaned," he added, calling for an audit of the World Bank funds meant to be used for cleaning the drains.

Meanwhile, Pak Sarzameen Party chief Mustafa Kamal said that the Pakistan Peoples Party, PTI and Muttahida Qaumi movement had all contributed equally to Karachi's destruction, adding that the local government was lying about not having the funds or power to help the city.

Residents, too, complained that they constantly suffered from the negligence of the authorities, claiming that all the political parties did was blame each other.

Forecast

Pakistan Meteorological Department chief meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz stated that the current rain system had weakened greatly but a trough was still present above the city. He added that the system would move out to the sea on Tuesday morning, after which some areas of the city may witness light rain showers over the next two days.

The maximum temperature in the city on Monday was 33.2 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was recorded at 24.5 degrees Celsius. The weather is expected to remain cloudy and humid today (Tuesday).