Karachi received light to heavy showers as well as strong winds on Friday night, hours after a spell of stormy rain left at least six people dead and three others injured by electrocution and structural collapse.
The death toll in the recent period rose to seven with one person losing his life after being electrocuted in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted more widespread intermittent rain accompanied by wind, thunder and isolated hail in upper and south-eastern districts of Sindh and isolated places of Karachi and Hyderabad divisions.
Thunder and lightning rang out in several areas, while light showers fell in the central, northern and southern districts.
Orangi Town and Chishti Nagar experienced constant rains, with residents also reporting brief hailstorms in some areas.
Parts of Saddar, II Chundrigar Road and Burns Road received intermittent showers, while North Nazimabad and Nazimabad experienced light rain accompanied by lightning.
Other localities including Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Liaquatabad, Old Golimar, Scheme 33, Malir Halt, Rifah-e-Aam, Garden, Surjani Town and areas along MA Jinnah Road and Shahrah-e-Pakistan were slightly waterlogged, giving the port city a rare nighttime refreshment.
The current wet spell began yesterday (Thursday) when different areas of Karachi received intermittent rains with isolated heavy falls which flooded low-lying areas and disrupted traffic on major arterial roads and roads, leaving commuters stranded in slow-moving traffic jams. During this time, power supply to various power lines was suspended.
At least five people lost their lives due to electrocution in different areas during the downpour.
In Surjani’s Hassan Brohi Goth, a man died after suffering an electric shock while working inside his house. A similar incident in PIB Colony also turned fatal, while a girl lost her life due to electrocution in Surjani Sector 7-A.
Another man was electrocuted near MA Jinnah Road, and another incident occurred in Ahsanabad along the Super Highway, where a worker died after coming into contact with a live electrical source.
In the Old Golimar district, a wall collapsed on a rickshaw in the rain, instantly killing the driver.
Meanwhile, in Orangi town, three children were injured when a wall of a house collapsed in a downpour. Rescue teams responded quickly and transferred the injured to a nearby medical center.
Rain, wind and thunderstorms occurred in scattered places across the province on Thursday under the influence of a strong westerly wave affecting most parts of the country and likely to persist in the upper and central parts until April 4, according to the Met Office.
Provincial and local governments took immediate measures to eliminate rainwater and maintain traffic flow.
According to the weather office, the wettest area in Karachi was Nazimabad with 70 mm of rainfall, Keamari received 56, Saadi Town 48, University Road 44, Bahria Town 44, Orangi Town 39, Gulshan-E-Maymar 36, Jinnah Terminal 35, Surjani Town 35, Airport Old Area, DHA Phase 2- 33, Faisal Base 30, North Karachi, Masroor Basis. 29, Korangi 18 and Gulshan-E-Hadeed 17 mm of rain until evening.
Among other areas of the province, 50 mm of rain was recorded in Mohenjo Daro, followed by Jacobabad with 22, Dadu 14, Hyderabad 13, Larkana 08, Padidan 03, Rohri, Khairpur and Sakrand 02, Chhor and Mithi 01 mm.
The weather office has predicted increased likelihood of widespread intermittent rain and windstorms, thunderstorms, as well as isolated hailstorms and heavy falls in Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Umerkot, Nagarparkar, Tharparkar, Dadu, Qambar, Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad and Nowshera Feroze, while isolated places in Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Thatta, Badin and Sujawal Districts.
