LAHORE: Parts of the country including Lahore received rainfall of varying intensities on Wednesday, bringing life to a standstill by causing urban flooding, traffic jams, power shutdowns and water shortage.
The rains, however, provided much needed relief to the people from the prevailing muggy weather by causing considerable decrease in the mercury level.
In Lahore, seven people including women and children lost their lives while 10 were injured in rain-related mishaps. Strong winds started blowing at noon that followed by downpour. High velocity winds uprooted trees and caused felling of hoardings in several localities. Felling of tree branches disturbed vehicular movement on both sides of Canal Bank Road. Rains became heavier at around 1:15pm that continued for about 45 minutes, submerging roads and streets into knee deep water.
It took two hours for WASA to clear main roads from inundated rainwater. Portions of roads and arteries in several residential colonies could not be cleared even until filing of this report.
Underpasses along Lahore Canal, areas along route of under construction Orange Line Metro Train, Main Boulevard Gulberg, Salamat Pura, Lakshami Chowk, Mughalpura, Kashmir Road, Nabha Road, Nawab Town, Ali Town, Chowk Nakhuda, GPO Chowk, Mozang, Nicholson Road, Qartaba Chowk, Revaz Garden, Westwood Colony, Judicial Colony, Aziz Road, Samanabad, Sir Agha Khan Road, Main Boulevard Iqbal Town, portions of Johar Town, Wahdat Colony, Harbanspura, Regal Chowk, Majeed Nizami Road, Begum Road, Waris Road, Queen’s Road and Empress Road were the worst affected areas.
Inundated rainwater on roads, portion of roads and roadsides added to the woes of motorists and pedestrians. Several vehicles were seen broken down in inundated rainwater in several localities. Inundated rainwater and slippery conditions caused massive traffic jam in the heart of the City at peak hours.
Windstorm and rains caused tripping of more than 200 LESCO feeders. More than 90 feeders could not be restored until filing of this report. Ferozepur Road, Ring Road, Ghazi Road, Defense Housing Authority (DHA) and Gulberg were badly affected by tripping.
Overcast conditions, winds and rains made weather pleasant by causing considerable decrease in the mercury level. Maximum and minimum temperature in Lahore was recorded 35 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius respectively. Relative humidity in the evening was recorded 70 percent. People come out of their houses in the evening to enjoy pleasant change in weather after the heavy monsoon rains. Major parks and picnic spots attracted a large number of people including women and children. Huge rush was witnessed at Greater Iqbal Park, Bagh-e-Jinnah, Jilani Park, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Jallo Park, Lahore Zoo and other picnic spots. Traffic jams were also witnessed in the close vicinity of entry/exit points of these parks.
According to the experts, seasonal low lies over north Balochistan. Moderate monsoon currents are penetrating central & upper parts of the country. A westerly wave is also affecting upper parts of the country and will persist till Thursday.
The local meteorological department has forecast partly cloudy weather with chances of rains for Lahore during the next couple of days. Rain-thunderstorm with gusty winds is expected at scattered places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad divisions, Islamabad, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir and at isolated places in DG Khan, Multan, Sahiwal, Zhob and Kalat divisions. Hot and humid weather is expected elsewhere in the country.
Lahore received 43mm rain, Kohat 30mm, Bannu 28mm, Balakot 15mm, Faisalabad 12mm, Malamjabba and Parachinar 09mm each, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Joharabad 06mm each, Chakwal and Sargodha 04mm each, Gupis 03mm, Saidu Sharif and Cherat 02mm each, Kakul, Mandi Bahauddin, Kamra, Bhakkar and Rawalakot 1mm each.