Seaview opened a new branch: Internet reacts to Karachi’s urban flooding after heavy rains

Heavy rains on Saturday wreaked havoc in various areas of Karachi, leaving roads submerged and more than 700 electricity feeders tripped, plunging several neighbourhoods into darkness, Express News reported. The rain started after sunset, just as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had predicted, and rapidly intensified across almost all areas of the city. 

As citizens struggle to navigate power outages and intense urban flooding due to poor drainage, the internet has erupted with concern and humour at the yearly collapse of infrastructure. One user on the microblogging platform X shared a snapshot of accumulated rainwater on the roads while riding a bike.

“Seaview opened a new branch on Zamzama,” remarked the user jokingly at the worrying state of the city’s drainage. Another X user shared an all-too-familiar sight of an overflowing gutter in a brief video clip, which also shows citizens walking their bikes through the contaminated pools of water. “Obligatory Karachi urban flooding gutter fountain video,” the caption reads.

Reacting to a video depicting vehicles submerged in rainwater at Karachi’s major boulevard, Shahrah-e-Faisal, one internet user expressed their frustration: “If anyone shares videos of flooded streets in the developed world as a response to this, I will absolutely go crazy. It's a one-off occasion there. It's business as usual here. Why must Karachi flood every time it rains?”

Given the sheer effort of navigating the inundated city, some are comically referring to the ordeals of the renowned British trooper, Bear Grylls. In one Hindi-dubbed video captioned as “When you visit Karachi in rainy season,” Grylls can be seen traversing a rough waterscape while narrating the turbulent weather conditions and risks.

The timing of this torrential rain spell has not escaped the notice of netizens who are pointing out how Karachi’s latest crisis will impact the upcoming general election on February 8. “Imagine Nawaz Sharif accepts the live debate offer Bilawal has been making him and comes to Karachi now after the rain,” speculated one post with a laughing emoji.

Another post relayed a similar sentiment, convinced that the disruptive downpour has dealt a major blow to one political party’s campaign in Karachi. “Karachi flooding within 10 minutes of rain? Has Bilawal Bhutto considered doing another podcast with Shehzad Ghias about just how progressive he is?” the post asked rhetorically.

The user furthered on, “Maybe that'll solve the urban flooding in the biggest city of the province he's ruled for 15 years now.” “Economic capital in ruins after a single spell of rain, former first lady's menstrual cycles being discussed in courts, judges being heckled abroad, feminist organisations being attacked because they're easy targets, Pakistani society disintegrating in real time,” one post on X checked the recent happenings with a green tick emoji. 

Others, however, are drawing parallels between themselves and Karachi’s spontaneous burst of rain. “I get Karachi because I, too, am prone to sudden breakdowns and downpours,” expressed one X user. Taking a jibe at the complicated relationship many residents have with the city due to inadequate civic amenities, another post offered, “I love Karachi. What the f*** is infrastructure? Who needs drainage for a coastal city?”

The intense rain resulted in flooding on various city roads, causing motorcycles and cars to come to a standstill. Areas including Landhi, Korangi, DHA, Clifton, II Chundrigar Road, Tower, Keamari, Bolton Market, Saddar, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nipa, Liaquatabad, North Nazimabad, North Karachi and Surjani experienced heavy rainfall for over 20 minutes, accompanied by strong gusts of wind. 

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