Karachi swamped as late monsoon burst kills at least 10

#Karachi #swamped #late #monsoon #burst #kills

KARACHI: The Sindh government has ordered the closure of the city on Wednesday, August 20, when heavy rains surrounded Karachi, causing floods to the citizens, which was thrown into houses and kills at least 10 people in electricity, drowning and wall collision.

The power outage collapsed in several areas, while the Internet and mobile services were also interrupted, in which Gulshan recorded the highest rainfall in 170 mm.

Authorities have advised people to refrain from traveling, as many works and schools are trapped in areas, including Malir, at a distance of several feet.

Intermittent rains removed Karachi throughout the day, causing most of the city to sink. Several neighborhoods, including Gulshan -e -Gulshan, Korangi Crossing, Liaikotabad, Baldia Town, Rafa Um, and Shah Faisal Colony, entered the houses entering the rainwater.

In some areas, especially in Malir and northern Karachi, the water level increased around four feet, forcing residents to leave and wander in the flooded streets.

Traffic stopped to grind on key arterys, including Shareya Faisal, University Road, and II Chandigarh Road. Vehicles were broken on the roads of water, long rows were seen on Nagan Chorangi, Hub River Road, and Miran Naka, where passengers were trapped for hours.

Surjani Town, Shadman town in northern Nasimabad, and several areas of Malir district, were also submerged.

Rescue officials said three people, including two women drowned in a stormy water drain near the Guru Temple. Two women were rescued, while the third person is still searching.

When the wall of the house collapsed in Gulistan -Jor Block 12, four people were killed and two were injured, and one child was killed in a similar incident in Orangi.

Rescue officials said another young man riding a motorcycle at the Defense Housing Authority (DHA) lost his life after receiving an electric shock from the rainwater, a motorcyclist was electrooted on the sidewalk near the nursery.

Others died in separate rainfall incidents, resulting in the total number of casualties in Karachi.

A spokesman for the Met Office said that the next two days are important to Karachi in connection with the rain, and added that Port City is likely to receive more rainfall on August 20 and 21.

According to the Met Office statistics, the highest rainfall was recorded in Gulshan -e -Headed (170 mm), followed by the old area of ​​the airport (158.5 mm), Jinnah terminal (152.8 mm), Nizimabad (149.6 mm), and Surjani Town (145.2 mm).

Heavy shower also disrupted flight work at Jinnah International Airport. At least eight flights were canceled and in 20 other delays, many of these bound flights turned to other cities.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Scadu (PK 456) was shipped to an alternative airport, while a Dubai Karachi flight from Fly Dobby (FZ 335) was diverted to Multan.

PIA also canceled Karachi-Islamabad flights PK-308 and PK-309, as well as its Karachi Quetta flights PK-310 and PK-311. Two-score-connected flights (PK-536 and PK-537) were also abolished, while private carriers suspended their scheduled Dubai services. Airport sources confirmed that departure and arrival from Jeddah, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Colombo, Medina, Peshawar, and Toronto.

Meanwhile, internet and mobile phone services in Karachi have been affected in many areas due to rain.

An emergency of rain

CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah has directed the implementation of a rain emergency in Metropolis, while ordering immediate steps to drain water from the lower areas and roads.

Sindh Home Minister Zial Hassan Lowner has also directed the police to prefer the safety of the citizens while urging the residents to avoid unnecessary travel.

Along with a rainstorming cell at the governor’s house under the direction of Kamran Tessuri, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said that the city has received more than 100 mm of rainfall so far.

‘Natal disqualified’

Talking to Geo News, Wahab said that after heavy rains, the city’s main roads have been cleared, though work is still underway in several areas facing water.

“The drainage efforts are underway where rain water has accumulated,” he said.

So far, 3.024 million cubic feet of debris have been cleared from the storm drains, which has improved the flow of water and reduce drainage, Wahab said.

Wahab acknowledged shortcomings in the system but promised improvement, emphasizing that water could not be effectively cleaned without proper cleaning of the storm drains.

“The basic steps are needed to increase the drainage capacity, but it requires resistance from the ground and residents, which makes it difficult,” the mayor said.

“Traffic is running, but water is left on the sides of the roads. Overall, the situation has improved compared to the early days.”

Wahab also confirmed receiving complaints of power outages in several palaces.

Earlier, Wahab had said that criticism was the right of the citizens, but urged them to see the whole picture.

“The city suffered for hours of non -stop rains,” he added. We are on the streets, monitoring the situation ourselves. “

Wahab remarked, “We are all on the streets, monitoring the situation,” Wahab gave remarks, adding that the authorities are having difficulty cleaning Tipu Sultan Nahullah.

The mayor highlighted, “People should not leave home unnecessarily. After the rain, the situation comes back to normal after an hour and a half,” the mayor highlighted that if there is more than 40 mm of rain, the situation in the city is worse.

Separately, Tessori visited the pedestrian affected areas, even helped to advance the cars that stopped trapped motorcycles.

He told the citizens that the gates of the governor’s house would be open overnight, and the needy sheltered anyone.

The governor also set up a rainstorming cell at the governor’s house. The affected citizens can contact the helpline 1366 to help with rain or traffic issues.

Several major roads still fell into water

Karachi has several major roads and underpass waterfalls, which causes severe disruption to passengers all over the city.

Rain water has gathered at several points with Share Faisal, including II Chandrigar Road, University Road, and Share Faisal and PAF Museum near Safura. Parts of the city’s commercial district – Karachi Chamber of Commerce, GPO, Habib Bank Plaza, and near the police headquarters.

Traffic police said that Drag Road, Nasimabad, Liaikotabad, Gulistan Jehar, and Clifton Sub Marine Area are currently closed due to floods. Although Clifton Underpass has been reopened, standing water prevents entry into others.

The cracked vehicles are available to Malir Halt with Nittha Khan, though traffic has been restored between Dari Road and Netha Khan.

Water has also been reported near the Governor’s House, Bagh-Jinnah, Shaheen Complex, Gurmandar, Qayyamabad, Bolton Market, Khardar, KMC Head Office, and City Court. Shops and markets are struggling to stay accessible on the area of ​​Napier Road, Madison Market, and Denno Hall, in some places about one foot deep water.

Red Zone is still logged in with water

When the new day increases 14 hours after the start of rain, large parts of the Red Zone of Karachi are still flooding, which causes severe disruption to motorcycles on Wednesday morning.

Officials told Geo News that the water has not yet been eliminated from the surrounding areas of the House Sadar and Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, where a track has been closed for traffic since yesterday.

Eyewitnesses have reported that no attempt has been made to remove the water collected from the road leading to the President’s House and the surrounding areas.

The road near the governor’s house is still drinking water, which makes it difficult for passengers to go through a road flood.

Motorcyclists are struggling to make their way through water again today.

Public holiday

Sindh’s CM Shah announced a public holiday in Karachi on August 20, as the city is suffering from heavy rains and massive disruption.

The Chief Minister also advised the citizens to stay inside the house, emphasizing that more rain is expected and the holidays have been announced to protect people from further problems.

An official notification issued by the Commissioner’s Office states that in view of the heavy rains coming to the Karachi Division and the weather advice issued by the PMD, the government’s government announces Wednesday, August 20, 2025, in connection with the widespread rain/thunderstorms.

He added that ordinary people are advised to stay at home, avoid unnecessary external movements, and be more careful during the magic of heavy rain.

More high rain

According to the Met Office, strong monsoon streams from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are constantly penetrating in the southern parts. Under the influence of these climate conditions, widespread rainfall/thunderstorms is expected to be shower (too heavy with heavy heavy faults), in which several Sindh districts, including Karachi, with occasional space from August 19-22.

It is also expected in Matthew, Tharparkar, Amir Kot, Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Shaheed Benzirabad, Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Sajawal, Tando Alier, Tando Mohammad Khan, Sagar, Jamshoro, Lukor, Larkor, Larkor.

The PMD added that heavy rains could cause that it could flood the citizens in the lower areas of Sindh, including Karachi.

In addition, the rains also resulted in the power outage in several areas. However, K -Electric (KE) has said that the city is being provided with no power supply by more than 1,770 feeders out of 2,100.

“Our teams are operating on the ground, which is operating quickly and safely through Chal Challenging conditions for power restoration,” said Sadia Dada, Chief Distribution and Marcus Officer. “Water -filled areas were temporarily implemented in closed areas to protect the public, and with the permission of the situation, rehabilitation was preferred.

“We strongly urge the citizens to maintain a safe distance from power infrastructure during the rains, including poles, electric meters, service brackets, and broken and tangled Internet/cable wires. Internal wires and water motors should not be used in wet hands or standing water.

In light of the Met Office forecast, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presided over an emergency meeting a day earlier to monitor the preparations for monsoon rains, which would be expected to affect Karachi and other parts of the province.

The Chief Minister put the local governments, the administration and the traffic police on a high alert, and directed them to strengthen harmony to ensure the convenience of the people in the event of heavy rains.

Monsoon deaths

Karachi is not the only part of the country observing monsoon rains, as heavy rains in recent days have caused devastation in the northern parts of Pakistan.

So far, the number of deaths has increased to 660, with reports of casualties and widespread destruction from all provinces and regions.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has reported the most casualties, 392 people have lost their lives in different incidents.

After KP, 164 deaths after Punjab, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) 32 with 29, Sindh with 20, Balochistan with 20, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 15, and Islamabad with eight.

Among the victims, there were 394 men, 95 women, and 171 children. The total number of injured has reached 935, most of them are in Punjab (582), while 245 were reported in KP, 40, 40 in Sindh, 37 in GB, 24 in AJK, four in Balochistan, and three in Islamabad.