Karachi weather update: Rains leave 19 dead in four days, power woes remain unresolved

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People facing trouble due to flooded water accumulated on a road after heavy monsoon rains in Karachi. — Online/Sabir Mazhar    
 

KARACHI: At least 19 people have lost their lives over the past four days as torrential rains wreaked havoc in Pakistan's southern port city, rescue sources and authorities said on Sunday.

The deceased belonged to different areas of Karachi, rescue officials said, adding that girls aged six and 13 were also among them.

One person each from Gulistan-e-Johar, Kati Pahari, Mewashah Graveyard, Malir's Model Colony, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 13-D, Ittehad Town, and North Karachi Sector 2 died due to electrocution. Of these, one was a child aged 13 and another aged six.

A man in Landhi No. 4 was killed of electrocution when he touched an electrically charged shop shutter. Two others near City Kot, Civil Hospital also died of electrocution.

Two children drowned in the Surjani and Banaras naddis.

Two people died when the roof of a house collapsed in Lyari's Jehanabad; one was injured and shifted to hospital.

The body of a minor boy who had drowned a day earlier in the Pirabad naddi was recovered from the Rexer naddi.

Yesterday a man near Johar Morr and a six-year-old child in Liaquatabad FC Area had died of electrocution.

Power woes continue

Meanwhile, the citizens' power woes remained unresolved with K-Electric's power transmission system in disarray.

The power supply was disrupted in different parts of the city and technical glitches that popped up in various localities were not fixed.

Sources at the K-Electric acknowledged cable faults could not be repaired at various places in the city and that there are also complaints of breakdowns in most parts of Karachi.

Areas affected by power outages and disruption included S.I.T.E., Moosa Colony, Shah Faisal Colony, Ziaul Haq Colony, Model Colony, Lyari, Baldia Town, Orangi Town, Ghareebabad, Liaquatabad C1 Area, Ibrahim Hyderi, Meetha Dar, Khawaja Ajmeer Nagri, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Ahsanabad, Muhajir Camp, Sohrab Goth, Gulistan-e-Johar, Malir, Nazimabad, Korangi, Qayyumabad, Landhi, and Gulbahar.

More rain forecast

After three days of heavy downpour in the metropolis, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast showers in Karachi for today as well. Mainly hot and dry weather was expected in most parts of Sindh, with rain expected in Mirpurkhas, Karachi and, coastal areas of the province.

The weather in the city is expected to hit a minimum temperature of 26.5°C and a maximum of 35°C.

Saturday's situation

Heavy rain on Friday night had continued through Saturday, with the PMD reporting the highest rainfall in Surjani Town at 41.6 millimetres (mm). Saadi Town, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Base Masroor, PAF Faisal Base, North Karachi, and Landhi registered 36.2mm, 36mm, 32mm, 30mm, 24.7mm, and 22.5mm, respectively.

Meanwhile, more than 350 electricity feeders of K-Electric tripped during the downpour, disrupting the supply of power and adding to the woes of the people who have already been suffering frequent outages.

The affected areas included Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Pehlwan Goth, Scheme 33, Shah Faisal Colony, Liaquat Market, and Quaidabad. Moreover, New Karachi, Surjani, Khuda Ki Basti, and Kathore faced a prolonged outage of power, while several blocks in Federal B. Area and Gulshan-e-Iqbal also reported power breakdowns.