Rain showers bring mayhem

Prolonged power outages, accidents and destruction of houses as rains persist

MIRPUR/ PESHAWAR/ HYDERABAD:

As light to moderate and heavy showers poured down on various parts of the country, the rain wreaked havoc, throwing a spanner in the works, disrupting life, and causing accidents.

In districts of Sindh, the rain began late Saturday and persisted through Sunday, exacerbating the enduring challenge of prolonged power cuts.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Sukkur experienced a 13-millimeter downpour, while Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, and Thatta recorded 9 mm, 7 mm, and 5 mm each respectively.

One rain-related fatality, caused by a lightning strike, was reported from Shikarpur district. The rain, accompanied by strong gusts, not only tempered the soaring temperatures to below 30 degrees Celsius in many cities but also transformed the weather into a pleasant affair.

Complaints of prolonged outages emerged from various parts of the province. Three towers of 11,000 KV fell in the Jamshoro district early in the morning due to strong winds, leading to the suspension of the electric supply in many areas of Kotri town.

The complaints about faults in the transmission system and pole-mounted transformers of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO) also abound.
The rain has also caused fears among the wheat farmers whose harvest is still awaiting purchase by either the government or the market traders.

Meanwhile, a collision between a passenger coach and a coaster on the M9 Motorway in Jamshoro district, precipitated by rainfall, tragically resulted in the loss of four lives and left a minimum of 20 passengers, including women and children, injured.

The incident occurred near Nooriabad on Sunday.

The coaster was carrying a wedding party from Karachi to Nawan Jatoi village in Kambar-Shahdadkot district. The dead and injured were shifted to the government hospitals in Karachi, Jamshoro and Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, the death toll from rain-related incidents in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has risen to six, with seven individuals sustaining injuries.

In the Lower Dir district, three people lost their lives due to roof collapses caused by the heavy rainfall. In addition, the rains damaged over 15 houses and completely destroyed two.

Similarly, in Upper Swat, two children were tragically killed in another roof collapse incident.
The PDMA reported that torrential rains in the past 48 hours resulted in the destruction of one house and damage to four others in the Lower Chitral district. Furthermore, numerous roads have been closed due to heavy downpours and landslides.

Similarly, various parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including Mirpur division and the adjoining areas, have been lashed with unexpected heavy rains since mid-last night, turning the weather pleasant and reducing the just-started warm spell to a greater extent.    

The weather partially impacted the electricity, roads, and telecommunication systems in various areas of the Mirpur division, encompassing Kotli, Mirpur, and Bhimbher districts, as per reports from the Meteorological Department, AJK.

There were also reports of the uprooting of trees at several places in the division because of the wind storm.