A man walks through flooded streets during the passing of Hurricane Florence in the town of New Bern, North Carolina, U.S., September 14, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Islamabad [Pakistan], July 13 (ANI): Torrential rains and flash floods in Pakistan have claimed 27 lives in several parts of the country on Sunday and Monday. The downpour has caused several houses and villages to be submerged, standing crops and infrastructure was damaged and many remote areas were cut off from the rest of the population due to destroyed roads, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Police and rescue officials in Karachi reported ten deaths in Karachi from Sunday night to Monday morning. Electricity supply in most areas of Karachi was suspended for several hours following the heavy downpours.
The first monsoon spell in Pakistan came to an end on Tuesday. However, the met office has said that the second monsoon spell will begin on Thursday and last until the upcoming Sunday, the local media reported. According to the forecast, Sindh and Balochistan province will witness “widespread heavy to very heavy rain-wind/thundershowers.”
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Tuesday said that at least six people were killed in Swabi, Mardan, South Waziristan and Bajaur districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and 12 others were injured as the heavy rain resulted in the collapse of several houses.
On Monday, Karachi received a heavy spell of rain in Korangi, Saddar, Nipa Chowrangi, People’s Chowrangi, Superhighway, and other parts of the city. Parts of the city submerged after heavy rainfall.
The intermittent downpours claimed 62 lives, including 24 children and impacted hundreds of people in Balochistan, officials said. Around 48 people were injured in various accidents in the province, while more than 670 houses collapsed.
Owing to the heavy rainfalls, three people were electrocuted including two in the Garden’s Shoe Market area while another man died of electrocution in the Bilal Colony area of Korangi. The accumulation of water also led to power outages in the South Asian Country as 500 feeders were shut due to the accumulation of water in those places and the metropolis was provided with electricity from 1,400 out of 1,900 power feeders. Frequent load-shedding across the country has left the people suffering in sweltering high temperatures.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted widespread rains in Karachi and other parts of Sindh from July 14.
According to the PMD’s advisory, a strong rain system will enter Pakistan from July 14, which is likely to gradually spread over central and upper Sindh, ARY News reported. In a statement, Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfraz said that the strong rain system is currently present in Eastern India and will enter Pakistan on July 14 from Rajasthan. Karachi would receive widespread rain till July 18 or 19, the PMD chief said. (ANI)
