Heavy downpour kills four

ISLAMABAD: At least four people died and 10 were injured in Islamabad due to floods caused by heavy rains on Thursday. Dozens of houses, shops, hotels and markets were completely wiped out by the incessant rain, confirmed CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi.

“Heavy downpours have wreacked havoc in Bahra Kahu, Khana Pul, Tarnol and Koral Chowk,” he said.

The Civic Body established an emergency cell and warned people of kachi abadis to vacate their clay houses in sector G-7/2 because of risks.

He added that at least 199 mm of rain has been recorded, which is more than any rainfall recorded in the last five years.

“Around 400-500 workers are on high alert to provide relief to people in vulnerable areas,” he added.

The CDA Chairman also said a team had been deployed to keep watching on the rising water level of Simly Dam.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) officials said that many clay houses had been washed away in the floods. Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Aemir Ahmad Ali told The Express Tribune that the district administration declared emergency on Thursday evening in low lying areas as water levels in two seasonal drains were touching ‘alarming levels’.

Rescue 1122 and Fire and Rescue Service are on standby and said that they were “doing their best to save lives”.

“People of low lying areas are being directed to shift to camps that have been set up,” Ali added.

Rescue 1122 officials said that the main building of the Supreme Court had been flooded as well as Bahra Kahu, G-10/2, E-11/1, Motor Way Chowk, Sitara Market, Karachi Company and Faizabad.

“Dhowk Ratta, Islamabad was also badly affected by heavy rains as we came to know the situation after a 70-year-old lady called us after her home was washed away,” the officials said.

The spokesperson of Met office said that the pressure over Islamabad was at a seasonal low. Because of this, “Strong monsoon currents are continuously blowing into Pakistan and interacting with strong westerly currents to cause widespread rains and thundershowers in the city,” he explained.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2010.