Karachi:
Traffic in Karachi resulted in moving around Wednesday after the authorities managed to drain a large part of the rainwater that had paralyzed the city earlier, when a torrential monsoon downpour beat the metropolis and paralyzed a daily life.
The rains, which so far spared the regions of the southern country, struck Karachi on Tuesday with a devastating force. The roads have turned into rivers, the drainage lines collapsed, the power supply was cut off and the fragile infrastructure of the city practically sold under pressure.
On Wednesday morning, officials said that the accumulated water had largely fell. The Sindh government had declared a vacation the day before and extended the closure of educational establishments on Thursday, while another heavy rains swept away the city.
At least 10 people have been reported in Karachi – the city with more than 20 million residents – due to urban floods, house collapse and electroctions, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The NDMA emergency operations center warned against “extremely strong precipitation” in Karachi and other major cities in the Sindh, urging precaution as more monsoon systems are advancing. “Another (rain) spell is to start at the end of the month,” said NDMA president Inam Haider Malik.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) provides for generalized rains, wind and thunderstorms, with thick with very heavy showers in the central and lower Sindh, as well as in southern Balutchistan on Thursday.
An opinion warned that torrential rains could trigger urban floods in the low zones of Karachi, Hyderabad, Thista, Badin, Sajawal, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tando Allayar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Sanghar and Jamshoro.
The PMD has also warned that intense precipitation, wind storms and lightning can damage vulnerable structures – including kacha houses, display panels, feeding posts, solar panels and vehicles – and could trigger sudden floods in districts in southern Balutchistan.
In Balutchistan, the department predicted a partially cloudy sky with rain and speed forms in Gwadar, Lasbela, Ormara, Pasni, Kech, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Kalat, Quetta and Ziarat, with chances of strong falls in certain regions.
(With agency entries)
