Rain may trigger landslides in mountainous regions

Met Dept says wet system in Sindh weakens but another depression may bring light rain to Karachi

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI:

 

The National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) alerted the authorities concerned on Sunday about more rainfall in northern Punjab and elsewhere in the upcountry, which could trigger landslides in the hilly areas, including Murree.

The NFRCC warning came as the Early Warning Centre of the Meteorological Department in Karachi said that the system that caused rain in various districts of Sindh over the weakend had weakened to a great extent and would not induce more rains.

The NFRCC forecast rain, wind and thundershowers in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Islamabad, upper Punjab, south-eastern Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), and warned that rainfalls might trigger landslides in hilly areas.

Read: Ambassador Khan thanks US for additional flood relief of $20m

The Met Department’s Early Warning Centre said the system that caused rain in various districts of Sindh had weakened on Saturday to a great extent but another system formed in the Bay of Bengal might bring light rains to Karachi on September 13.

It said that the districts of Tharparkar, Umarkot, Badin and Mirpurkhas, Tando Muhammad Khan, Sajawal and Thatta were also likely to experience light rain. Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfraz said the system formed in the Bay of Bengal was present near Orissa in India.

Read More: Rescued from the brink, now what?

“A couple of days later, after reaching central India, it may cause light rain with wind in Karachi,” he said. “As a result of this system, there is a 40% chance of light to moderate rain in Karachi from September 13. The situation will become clearer as the system comes nearer.”

The weather experts said that over the next 48 hours, Karachi's weather was expected to be hot and humid. The temperature in the city on Sunday fell by 4.2 degrees Celsius compared to the previous day, when the mercury hit 40.5 Celsius.