Heavy downpour wreaks havoc

Rainwater enters houses and shops in low-lying areas of Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI:

Around 100 millimetres of a downpour for a few hours on Monday wreaked havoc in the garrison city as citizens faced severe hardships owing to urban flooding.

The rainwater entered houses and commercial centres in the low-lying areas causing a loss of millions of rupees to traders. Rainwater accumulated in low-lying areas, squares and intersections in Rawalpindi.

Dozens of vehicles were also submerged in the rainwater. Sirens were blared after the water level rose to 15 feet in Nallah Leh. Dozens of citizens trapped on IJP Road, Express Road and Murree Road were salvaged by Rescue 1122 personnel.

In Dhok Juma, a house collapsed, however, no loss of life was reported. According to the district administration, the urban flooding situation has arisen due to unusual rainfall.

Major commercial centres including Raja Bazaar turned into ponds. Rainwater entered shops in commercial centres including Bohar Bazar, Dalgran Bazar, Dengi Khoi, Urdu Bazar, Moti Bazar, Fruit Market, Ganj Market, Bara Market and College Road Bazar, inundating valuable goods worth millions of rupees.

Zakaria Qureshi, a trader, told The Express Tribune that urban flooding has wreaked havoc in Bohar Bazar, the only wholesale market for medicines in the city. He said that valuable medicine worth millions of rupees has been wasted after rainwater entered shops. He said that the flow of rainwater was so fast that dozens of vehicles in the parking lot were also washed away.

Tahir Taj Bhatti, General Secretary of Moti Bazar Anjuman Tajiran, said that traders have suffered heavy losses as rainwater entered various shops. He said that shops were closed but still, water entered the shops and caused heavy losses.

He said that if the district administration and relevant agencies had cleaned drains and nullahs on time, such a disaster could have been avoided.

Rainwater entered houses in Jamia Masjid Road, Shahle Valley, Rahimabad Bridge, Tench Bazar, Dhok Saydan, Dhok Kala Khan, Sadiqabad, Dhok Kashmiriyan, Mahmood Ali Shah and Scheme-3 Officer Colony, destroying valuables including furniture, electronic equipment and other belongings.

Khawaja Naseer, a resident of Scheme-3, said that rains have been continuing for the past two weeks and urban flooding has become a regular occurrence in the city. He said that even in posh areas like Scheme-3, everything is submerged in rainwater. He said that carpets, vehicles, motorcycles, clothes, furniture, electrical and electronic items have all been destroyed. He said that the district has administration has failed to clean drains on time, otherwise, the disaster could have been avoided.

Traffic flow was also badly affected as up to 4 feet of water accumulated on several roads including Murree Road, Rawal Road, Jhelum Road, Airport Road, Mall Road, Peshawar Road and Gawalmandi Road. The citizens on the roads had to go through the agony of the traffic jam for several hours.

A spokesman for Rescue 1122 said that several vehicles were stuck due to heavy rain and waterlogging on the roads, after which commuters were trapped in the vehicles. Rescue personnel rescued dozens of citizens and moved them to a safe place.

The rain also wreaked havoc in densely populated areas of Dhok Khaba, Dhok Elahi Bakhsh, Arya Mohalla, Chamanzar, Nadeem Colony and Javed Colony. Citizens have been stranded in their homes after rainwater entered the streets.

The flood control room issued a pre-alert for low-lying areas in Katarian and Gwalmandi after the water level rose to 15 feet in Nullah Leh.

The spokesperson of the district administration said that Rescue 1122, WASA and other related agencies were in the field to deal with emergencies.

The Commissioner of Rawalpindi Division ordered the administration to utilise all resources to drain out rainwater from the low-lying areas.

According to the Meteorological Department, the monsoon spell is expected to continue till Thursday. The Meteorological Department had predicted heavy rains in Upper Punjab, Galiyat, Murree, Azad Kashmir and other areas. The Meteorological Department had issued an official advisory regarding the urban flooding in the low-lying areas.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2022.