16 more die as rains continue to pummel Sindh

HYDRABAD:

The recent deadly spell of monsoon rains and the entailing devastation continued across Sindh on Wednesday with reports of more deaths and displacement of the families emerging from many districts of the province.

The flood level kept on rising in the Indus river, reaching close to 600,000 cusecs at the Sukkur barrage, while breaches in the irrigation networks also led to flooding of villages and agricultural lands in several areas of the upper and lower Sindh.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported 175 millimetres rain in Benazirabad district, 142 mm in Naushehro Feroze, 92 mm in Hyderabad, 87 mm in Mirpurkhas, 81 mm in Badin and 71 mm in Khairpur. It also rained in all the districts of Sukkur and Larkana divisions.

At least 16 more people including women and children died due to drowning and collapses of walls and roofs of the houses. A lightning strike in Nangarparkar taluka of Tharparkar killed 16 goats. The killing of hundreds of cattle also surfaced in other districts.

The roof of a house caved in in Kandhkot, Kashmore district, killing three members of the same family. Four children died in as many districts because of drowning and the collapse of houses. Two women lost their lives in Tharparkar and Khairpur, while four young girls were also killed elsewhere.

Hyderabad had received 151 mm rain during the last 36 hours. The heavy downpour delayed dewatering of the partially-submerged areas. Around 500 houses collapsed in Sehwan town of Jamshoro, 160 in Matiari and 50 in Larkana districts.

Meanwhile, fresh breaches occurred at dozens of locations in the freshwater and saline channels. The Rahuki, Husri and Miano distributaries in Hyderabad developed ruptures while similar reports about Flood Protective (FP) embankment in Larkana and SM embankment in Matiari were also reported.

More breaches of 10 to 300 wide were reported from the villages and towns, including Ghazi Khuwarh, Sher Muhammad Brohi, Karim Bux Khoso, Panu Aqil, Khipro, Shah Bux, Daharki, Qazi Ahmed, Sakrand and Kot Lalu. The gushing water flooded hundreds of villages and cut the road connections.

More than a hundred villages were inundated in Badin district, where the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) was overflowing. The army had joined the rescue efforts through boats in the district. A bridge connecting Naukot and Tharparkar with Mirpurkhas had also gone under water.

Scattered showers in city

The city received light to moderate rain on Wednesday as a result of effects of a new monsoon system. Korangi received highest rainfall 14.8 mm during the day. The metropolis is expected to witness moderate and heavy scattered rainfall at few places with thundershowers, said PMD in its synopsis for Thursday.

Various areas of the city including Malir, Scheme 33, Surjani Town, Gadap Town, Gulshan Maymar and Gulshan-e-Hadid, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Azizabad, Shahrah-e- Faisal, Federal B Area, Shaheen Complex, Burns Road, Sadar and MA Jinnah Road received light to moderate rain under the effects of sixth spell of monsoon which entered Rajasthan, India, from the Bay of Begal and then into eastern Sindh.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2022.