Likelihood of urban flooding as first Monsoon spell hits Pakistan

The first spell of monsoon lashed most parts of the country on Monday bringing much-wanted respite from heat and shortage of water in reservoirs but also sent alarm bells ringing across several areas.

Scattered to fairly widespread thunderstorm, rain of moderate intensity with isolated heavy falls were reported in the upper catchments of all the major rivers along with Rawalpindi, Sargodha Gujranwala and Lahore Divisions.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said there was a likelihood of urban flooding due to heavy rains in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Peshawar and Faisalabad

The flood alert stated heavy rains may generate flash floods and trigger landslides in vulnerable areas of Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

About 149mm of rain was recorded in Kakul, 49mm in Malam Jabba, 37mm in Balakot, 28mm in Jhelum, 21mm in Murree and 20mm in Rawalpindi 20mm.Flood warning in Chenab River

According to reports, due to torrential rains in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, there was a danger of high-level flood in the Chenab River.

The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had also issued a high-level flood advisory in the river, stating that a flood of up to 300,000 cusecs could enter the Chenab by 2pm today.

“A total of 300,000 cusecs of water is expected to flow over Head Khanki tomorrow,” IRSA stated. “High-level floods are also expected at Head Qadirabad.”

IRSA also issued an alert to all district administrations and related agencies along with the Prime Minister's Office, secretary of aviation, Federal Flood Commission and other relevant officials.