KARACHI - Rain Wednesday lashed parts of the city as the met department predicted more rainfall in the city on Thursday.
One death was reported in the city from electrocution in Nazimabad area of the city after a man touched water pumping motor in his residence. He was shifted to a local hospital but could not survive.
According to met authorities, the city received at least 60 mm rainfall during the day.
North Karachi received the most rain in the first spell of rain in the city on Wednesday morning and it was recorded to be 32 mm. University Road received 19 mm, Surjani Road 12 mm, Jinnah Terminal 9mm, Landhi 8mm, Nazimabad 2mm, and Saddar 28 mm.
The met office has forecast rainfall at scattered places on Wednesday in Karachi, Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad and Hyderabad divisions in Sindh.
Rain is also expected on Thursday night and will continue till Friday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. The new rain system has entered Karachi from Bengal.
Power Outages
K-Electric shutdown electricity in various parts of the city in order to avoid any electrocution incidents.
Some of the areas in the city witnessed power outages upto over 12 hours after the electricity supply failed to restore the electricity due to ground faults.
The areas that witnessed outages included Surjani Town, Taiser Town, North Karachi, North Nazimabad, Defence, Soldier Bazaar, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan Iqbal, Federal B Area, Landhi, Korangi, Malir, Model Colony, Khokhra Par, Maripur, Keamari, Baldia, SITE area, Orangi Town, Gadap, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Gulshan-e-Hadeed and Ahsanabad. The power supply company-K-Electric in a statement said that it suspended electric supply in different parts of the city as light rain hit parts of the city in the morning and a heavy shower in the night.
The power supply situation remained stable as the city experienced a fresh wave of monsoon rains. KE has beefed up its on-ground teams, which remained ready to respond to any localized faults.
Power supply was temporarily switched off in a few low-lying areas including Orangi, Korangi, Gadap, Baldia and Surjani as well as in areas with a high incidence of kundas in the interest of public safety.
According to a KE spokesperson, “KE teams remained active and ready to respond swiftly to any localized faults or complaints to ensure stability of the entire system. Electricity supply to some areas has been temporarily suspended due to the risk of urban flooding.”
Power supply to strategic installations such as KWSB, airport and key hospitals remained uninterrupted.
Customers are urged to use caution during the monsoons and not touch electric poles or power infrastructure. The public is urged to not take shelter under transformers, sign boards or hoardings and to not ring the doorbell with wet hands.
K- Electric has also highlighted safety measures that should be taken inside homes during rains, however despite that, media and emergency first responders have reported an unfortunate incident occurring inside the house due to the use of a water motor.
The rain in the city once again exposed the claims of the provincial and local authorities to tackle the rain-related situation.
Roads were inundated and many gutters overflowed yet again after rain lashed parts of the city.
The authorities claimed that the machinery required to drain out rain water was on roads and an emergency is declared to deal with it.
They however said that it was not possible to drain out water during the ongoing rain. “It is continuing task and we are dealing with it with all staff on the ground,” said municipal commissioner.
Massive traffic jams were also witnessed on major thoroughfares of the city including the Shahra e Faisal, roads leading and in Saddar, Shahra e Pakistan and others during and after the rain spell.