The third spell of monsoon rains lashed city on Monday flooding most parts of the metropolis including Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and Clifton. Some areas in the posh localities presented scenes of the downpour of 2020.
In particular Khayabane Ittihad, Bukhari Commercial, Khayabane Sahar, Khayabane Badr, Khayabane Rahat and Shahbaz and Commercial Avenue phase 4 were the most affected.
Flood water entered the houses destroying furniture, fixture and equipment desides flooding underground tanks with sewage.
Footages of people losing millions of rupees worth of vehicles to urban flooding were also doing rounds on the social media.
Many residents of upscale localities were left without water and power for over 20 hours.
Road access to many streets is cut off
According to report, DHA recorded 126mm of rainfall from Sunday 8am to Monday 8am on Monday). Sea View recorded 157mm while Clifton received 136mm of rain during the same period.
A spokesman for Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) has claimed that affected areas of DHA and Clifton will be cleared using heavy machinery within 24 to 48 hours.
According to details, a series of strong monsoon winds entered Sindh from Indian Rajasthan causing heavy rains in different areas of DHA and Clifton like the rest of the city.
It may be mentioned that DHA had no system to measure rainfall but after heavy rains in 2020, a rain gauge was installed in DHA Phase 2 at the end of 2021 by the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
On 27 August 2020, a cloudburst in DHA was detected by a weather analyst associated with a non-governmental weather station.
Meteorologist Jawad Memon claimed that the weather station at Old Clifton recorded this unusual activity during which DHA received 120mm of rain in just one hour.
Meanwhile, a resident in a posh area of the city rode on a horse in several feet of water, while another resident of DHA used rubber boat and enjoyed sailing in the rain water in the area.
The current spell of monsoon rain has restricted residents from going out.
Many videos went viral on social media in which the residents were seen working on a self-help basis in their futile efforts to prevent overflowing sewage entering their houses.
However, a spokesperson for DHA claimed that the videos are from the year of 2020, not current.
He denied that any such situation has taken place during the recent rains.
He said that the work to clear rain water is in progress round-the-clock using heavy machinery.
According to DHA spokesperson, a shuttle service using 10 buses has been started to transport residents to and fro DHA.
Apart from this, a Rain Emergency Centre has also been established for the residents for prompt provision of food items and access to medical treatment facilities.
On the other side, a spokesperson for CBC said that drainage process is going on in full swing and heavy machinery is being used to pump out water. More than 45 workers using as many as 300 small and big pumps are in the field with bowsers.
Moreove, around 1,500 other CBC workers are also engaged in drainage work, the CBC officer further said, adding that a full-fledged Rain Management Organisation has also been set up to deal with the post-monsoon situation while residents can contact Helpline 1092.
He also said that four relief camps have been set up in DHA schools and colleges to assist those affected with rains.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2022.
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