Daily Times

Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds battered Karachi on Friday, leaving major thoroughfares flooded and causing widespread power outages even as residents heaved a sigh of relief from the day’s intense heat.

Although no loss of human life was immediately reported in the second rain spell of the season, a wall of the Bandookwala building located on the city’s I.I. Chundrigar Road collapsed, damaging a number of cars parked nearby badly damaged, according to police.

According to the Met Office, Karachi received a maximum 63.5mm of rain at PAF Faisal Base, Saddar (41.0mm), Gulshan-i-Hadeed (40.0mm), Landhi (40.0mm), Karachi MOS (28.0mm), University Road (16.0mm), Jinnah Terminal (15.0mm), Nazimabad (9.0mm), Masroor Base (5.7mm) and North Karachi (traces).

The K-Electric (KE), which has already come under fire from all sides in recent weeks over frequent unannounced load-shedding and complaints of overbilling, took to Twitter to say that heavy rains and winds were “causing power disruption throughout the city”.

It said some of its feeders were switched off for “safety reasons”. “Teams are working for swift restoration of power,” the power utility added.

As commuters returning from their workplaces complained of major roads such as Sharea Faisal being inundated and traffic moving at a snail’s pace, Sindh Minister for Local Government Nasir Hussain Shah and Adviser to the Chief Minister Barrister Murtaza Wahab undertook a visit to various areas to review the situation.

Many netizens criticised the municipal authorities and provincial government for not having prepared adequately for the heavy rains which led to roads being flooded.

In a statement, Shah said efforts were being made to bring the situation back to normal following the heavy rain and that drainage of rainwater was continuing due to a “comprehensive strategy”.

He said the administrations of all district were fully active while the process of cleaning storm drains was continuing uninterrupted.

According to Shah, pumping stations of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board were functioning non-stop and dewatering machines had been installed at major choking points.

Special attention was being paid to maintain the flow of traffic through underpasses, he said.

The Met department had forecast light to moderate widespread rain in Sindh today (Friday), a day after several parts of Karachi received light rain in the evening.

On July 6, the first monsoon spell had hit Karachi and lasted for three days, wreaking havoc on the ill-maintained municipal infrastructure, disrupting electricity for hours and causing traffic jams on almost every major thoroughfare. At least seven people were killed in various rain-related incidents.

The weather system currently active is likely to persist for a shorter duration and move towards Oman soon.

Residents took to social media to share pictures and videos from the first downpour of the season.

Rain water reportedly accumulated at hospitals as well.

One resident tweeted that fish were blown into her house during the windy showers.

As residents of the city’s DHA, Clifton and other neighbourhoods complained of hours-long power outages, the KE in a statement claimed that “power supply remained intact in the city” during the latest spell of rains.

However, it said power supply to “a few low-lying areas including Orangi, Korangi, small pockets of DHA, Baldia, Gulshan and Bin Qasim as well as in areas with a high incidence of kundas was temporarily suspended in the interest of public safety”.

“The power utility regrets inconvenience caused to customers due to inclement weather,” it said, advising residents to stay away from any broken wires, electrical poles and transformers during the rains.

In an update, KE said waterlogging in areas suffering power outages was “causing disruption in restoration efforts”. “Our teams are making all necessary efforts to ensure power is normalised at [the] earliest.”