Relentless downpour wreaks havoc

Heavy rainfall continued to batter the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad for the third consecutive day, disrupting life in several areas and resulting in serious accidents.

A house and the walls of four other houses collapsed in the rain in Fauji Colony. Fortunately, no lives were lost in these incidents. However, the number of children who lost their lives by drowning in the floodwater which had collected in the area has risen to four.

The city was submerged after six hours of continuous rain on Saturday morning, with over half of its area underwater. Chingchi rickshaw drivers and Bykea drivers began to charge exorbitant fares at the rate of Rs50 to transport people from flooded areas to safer zones over short distances measuring up to just 100 to 500 feet.

Numerous areas, including Dhok Khaba, Dhok Elahi Bakhsh, Mukha Singh Estate, Arya Mohalla, Javed Colony, Nadeem Colony, Amarpura, Qasimabad, Fazalabad, Dhok Hasu, Army Colony, Bangash Colony, People's Colony, Gulistan Colony, Dhok Chirag Din, Udara, Jan Colony, Tinch Bhata, Dhok Syedan, Shale Valley, Dhok Choudhary, Sharon Colony and 22 other slums, streets, and houses, have been flooded for the third day, resulting in significant losses. In commercial centres, floodwater entered shops like Raja Bazaar, Mochi Bazaar, Sadiqabad Bazaar, Moti Bazaar, Bara Bazaar, Pul Shah Nazar Chowk, and Dhok Syedan Bazaar, causing significant financial losses.

The relentless rain caused water to accumulate up to one foot deep in streets and roads, crippling social, business and commercial activities and paralysing the traffic system. As a result, business life has been severely impacted.

The lack of silt cleanliness and maintenance contributed to the problem by causing all sewers and drains in the city and cantonment areas to overflow. The city's drainage system and 15 storm drains failed to withstand the high levels of flooding.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) and the corporation failed to drain the floodwater in a timely manner. It took around four hours for the floodwaters to recede, which it did on its own without any useful measures taken by the authorities.

The overflow of sewage water from houses, shops and streets further led to the outbreak of diseases, prompting citizens to demand immediate protective spraying in affected areas. Ironically, due to the high levels of floodwater, anti-dengue activities have been forced to come to a halt in over half of the city.

Moreover, the three dams supplying water to the twin cities—Rawal, Simly, and Khanpur—have started filling up due to the continuous rain.

Preventive measures

As part of the measures taken by authorities to ensure public safety in the twin cities, both districts' District Magistrates have banned bathing in various water bodies, including in storm drains, mini dams, Korang Nala, Simly Dam, Rawal Dam and its banks, Nullah Leh, Soan River and deep ponds. The ban has been enforced under Section 144, making bathing in water bodies outside an offence.

The ban, which will continue until September 30, aims to prevent accidents and losses due to flooded water bodies. In addition to bathing, fishing along the banks of Korang Nala has also been prohibited.