Citizens of Karachi continued to face disruptions to daily life on the second day on Tuesday as intermittent monsoon rains wreaked havoc on the ill-maintained electricity and sewage systems in the port city, leaving at least eight more people dead, officials and rescue services said.
Most of the victims died due to electrocution, taking the death toll since the first spell of rain began on Monday morning in the metropolis to 17. At least seven other people were killed in other parts of Sindh due to rain-related incidents since the downpour started.
On Tuesday, at least six people sustained injuries in wall- and roof-collapse incidents in Jodia Bazaar and Gulshan-e-Maymar areas. A nine-year-old girl named Masooma was electrocuted in North Karachi’s Sector 5-3 while she was playing in water outside her house near an electric pole. An individual named Bakht Azameen was brought dead to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre after being electrocuted in Hazara Colony. Atif, 19, died due to electrocution in Yusuf Goth and 12-year-old Aabir and 13-year-old Ahmed Umar died after suffering electric shock at a cricket ground in North Nazimabad’s Block L. A 30-year-old man, who could not be identified immediately, was electrocuted in Kharadar. In Gulshan-e-Iqbal’s 13-D, a 22-year-old, Kamran, died when he touched an electric pole outside his home in Block 2. Akmal Khan, 13, died after suffering electric shock inside his home in Korangi’s Qayyumabad area early Tuesday.
Port city remains paralysed for second day as intermittent monsoon rains wreak havoc on the ill-maintained electricity and sewage systems
The Sadoo and Lath dams overflowed after two days of rainfall and water entered different areas of Manghopir, Saadi Town and Superhighway. The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) said that the Pakistan Army was called in to assist with the rescue operation in the affected areas. Major parts of Karachi also faced prolonged power outages and some areas remained without electricity for more than 24 hours. However, the city’s power utility, K-Electric, claimed that supply has been restored to most parts of the city.
A flow of floodwater gushing out from Thado Dam in Gadap has reached M-9 highway and a track of the motorway from Karachi to Hyderabad was completely closed. The rainwater from Thado Dam also reached near the Sabzi Mandi, according to reports. The water spilled out of Lyari river and entered several houses adjacent to the Lyari Expressway. Meanwhile, Edhi lifeguards rescued three children who had fallen into the Lyari river at Teen Hatti.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), rainfall was likely to continue in Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Thatta and Karachi till Tuesday night.
Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Hussasin Shalwani visited various areas of the city and inspected the ongoing work for drainage of the standing water.
