Rain continues to wreak havoc in Karachi

Casualties pile up; minister says situation 'better than previous downpours'

KARACHI:

As the metropolis witnessed heavy downpours for the third consecutive day on Saturday, structural collapses, electrocution and drowning claimed at least eight more lives.

Meanwhile, as roads continued to flood and power outages plagued citizens, Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said the city's situation was better than it had been in previous monsoon spells.

"Despite the intensity of the rain, there was no flooding situation," he claimed in a statement. "Thanks to the Sindh government's timely strategy and successful coordination policy, the city's condition is better than before."

He stated that places where water had temporarily accumulated were rapidly cleared, including major arteries of the port city.Rain-related casualties

Two men were crushed to death when the roof of a house, which they were repairing, collapsed in Pak Colony. The two men, identified as landlord Muhammad Anwar, 40, and mason Raza Muhammad, 45, sustained injuries when they fell with the crumbling roof and succumbed to their wounds while being shifted to the hospital.

Meanwhile, another labourer, 18-year-old Muhammad Pervez, was electrocuted while connecting an electric wire on the roof of a house, while a young man of the same age, Shadab, died of electrocution in a house in Ittehad Town late on Friday night.

Furthermore, a six-year-old child, Abdur Rehman, was electrocuted while switching on a pedestal fan in a house in Madina Colony, while 45-year-old Amin suffered electric shocks at a residential apartment near Johar Mor. Besides, a man identified as Mansab Khan, 30, was electrocuted after a wire fell into accumulated water in Jodia Bazar.

Moreover, 14-year-old Asad drowned in a stream in Garden. His body could not be recovered until the filing of this report. However, the body of Hashmat Khan, 7, was retrieved from a nullah in Dhobi Ghat a day after he drowned.

Besides, while the road near Korangi Causeway was closed for traffic due to flooding by the Malir river, at least five people were rescued from drowning as they attempted to use it.

As many as nine people had been killed as a result of electrocution and drowning the previous day as well.

Expressing grief over the loss of lives, K-Electric (KE), which has been slammed over electrocution-related deaths, stated that electrocution incidents occurring on Friday and Saturday had been caused by damaged non-KE wires, water motors and illegal electricity connections.

In a statement, a KE spokesperson extended sympathies to the grieving families while clarifying that no such tragedies had occurred as a result of the power utility's infrastructure. He added that KE had repeatedly urged citizens to maintain a safe distance from power infrastructure, while also writing to the authorities time and again about the safety hazards caused by internal wiring, illegal construction and encroachment.Clearing drains

The National Disaster Management Authority, meanwhile, claimed that the cleaning of three major nullahs in the city by the Frontier Works Organisation had been completed. According to a spokesperson, 42 choking points in these nullahs had been cleared, while around 31,000 tonnes of waste were removed from them.

Separately, the Pakistan Army swung into action as rain created chaos in the city, carrying out relief operations in rain-affected areas using dewatering pumps and other safety equipment.

An Inter-Services Public Relations statement said that low-lying areas of the port city were being cleared of rainwater and stranded people were being rescued. More rescue teams were on alert to deal with urban flooding as well as any other untoward incidents, it added.

Monsoon system to weaken

Pakistan Meteorological Department director Abdul Qayyum Bhutto stated that the ongoing spell of monsoon rain would begin to weaken on Sunday afternoon (today), while the city may witness light rain during the day. He explained that the rain-producing system had shifted towards Balochistan.

The highest rainfall on Saturday was recorded at 41.6 millimetres in Surjani Town, while PAF Base Faisal saw the most rain over the past three days, measuring at 172mm. During the current rain spell, 149.6mm of rain was recorded in Surjani Town, 148.5mm in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, 140.5mm at PAF Base Masroor, 120mm in Saddar and 104.7mm at University Road, among other places.