Record-Breaking heavy rainfall and overall flood situation of Sindh

During the sixth spell of monsoon in different parts of Sindh including Karachi, flood conditions have been created due to record-breaking heavy rainfall and 7 more people including children have been killed.

In Karachi, six people drowned and one died due to electrocution while several more people are feared to have drowned.

According to the administration, rescue workers and eyewitnesses, the boat of Faisal Edhi, head of the Edhi Foundation, capsized while searching for the drowned people in the Malir River, but the fishermen miraculously rescued him.

Memon Goth police said that the body of an 18-year-old youth who had drowned the previous day was recovered from Malir river.

They said the young man was identified as Noman and his body was floating in the river.

SHO Rana Abdul Latif said that Malir river was flooded yesterday and the water came out of the river as a result of which about 30 to 35 people drowned but all the people were rescued.

Obaidullah Khan, SHO of Shah Latif Town, said that a citizen named Amjad Masih drowned while bathing in the Malir river which was filled with rainwater.

He said the dead civilians went there for a picnic during the rains.

Another 20-year-old, Abdul Rehman, died while swimming in the Sakhan River, the SHO said.

A spokesman for the Edhi Foundation said that 35-year-old Noman Alam had drowned in rainwater in Shah Faisal Colony yesterday while Edhi’s swimmers pulled his body out of the river today.

According to rescue services, three children drowned in Malir in Sammon Goth yesterday, out of which 5-year-old Sameera died and her body was recovered today.

According to the administration, an 11-year-old child fell into a drain in Site B Area and died.

A 48-year-old man died of electrocution in Ayub Goth area of ​​Karachi.

The rains caused the city’s small drains to flood, while rivers overflowed and flooded surrounding areas, forcing residents to take refuge on rooftops or relocate.

Due to record rains, the situation in the city is very bad which was also acknowledged by the Chief Minister of Sindh and today he also visited different districts of Sindh to review the situation.

The provincial government has declared a rain emergency in Sindh yesterday, while beside the administration, the Pakistan Army and other welfare organizations are continuing their operations to help the citizens.

On the special directive of Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Pakistan Army had started repairing the dam on the river last night and evacuating the people from the affected areas besides providing them food, water etc.

The floodwaters caused a breach in the Sakhan River dam near Quaidabad, accumulating several feet of water in the surrounding slums, goths and other areas.

The settlements affected by the rains include Razzaq Town, Madina Town, Khaldabad, Raza City and Quaidabad.

The worst-hit areas were Razzaq Town and Madina Colony, where 6 to 8 feet of water flooded and dozens of houses collapsed, after which residents spent the night sitting on the roofs of their houses.

According to the residents of the area, the Pakistan Army arrived early in the morning and started the rescue operation and evacuation of people is continuing.

On the other hand, the opening of a gate of Dada Bhai Dam of Malir river at the confluence of Mahmoodabad and PECHS flooded the surrounding population.

During the last 24 hours, the highest rainfall of 134 mm was recorded in PF Base Faisal area of ​​Karachi.

In other areas of the city, 122 mm in Gulshan Hadeed, 91 mm in Nazimabad, 88 mm in Saddar, 85 mm in Landhi, 79 mm in University Road, 72 mm in Saadi Town, 68 mm in Masroor Base, 67 mm in Jinnah Terminal and 50 mm in North Karachi. Rainfall of 46 mm was recorded in Surjani Town and 24 mm in Kemari.

According to the data released with reference to other cities of Sindh, 89 mm in Thatta, 66 mm in Larkana, 54 mm in Mirpur Khas, 49 mm in Nawabshah, 49 mm in Jacobabad, 13 mm in Mithi, 6 mm in Sukkur and Hyderabad. One millimetre of rain was recorded in Badin.

Due to the ongoing rains in the country, the water level in the Indus River continues to rise sharply and low-level flood situation has arisen at Guddu Barrage in the Indus River while Sukkur Barrage is also likely to flood in 24 hours.

With the rising water level, the villages between Sukkur and Guddu barrages have started flooding.

According to irrigation sources, the water level at Guddu increased by 35 cusecs and Sukkur Barrage by 50,000 cusecs during the last 24 hours.

According to Sukkur Barrage Control Room in-charge Abdul Aziz, water supply in two canals of Guddu Barrage and four canals of Sukkur Barrage has been cut off due to rains and flood situation while water supply in three canals of Sukkur Barrage has been reduced.

Irrigation sources said that if this series of rains continued in the hilly areas, there would be a possibility of moderate flooding in the Indus River in the next two to three days.

At present, the inflow at Guddu Barrage is 237,479 cusecs and the outflow is 230,477 cusecs, while the inflow at Sukkur Barrage is 181,565 cusecs and the outflow is 173,865 cusecs. But the water level is rising rapidly.

Flood situation in Balochistan

On the other hand, due to torrential rains in different districts of Balochistan, rivers flooded.

According to the reports, the authorities have instructed the citizens not to travel to any part of Balochistan unnecessarily.

A 30-year record of rains was broken in Kalat, several vehicles were stranded in the floods, Harnai’s ground connection was cut off from other areas and hundreds of vehicles were stranded.

In addition, rains in Washik damaged onion and palm crops, while citizens in Hub rescued 20 people with their help. More than 400 people were trapped in their homes due to the flood situation after the rains in Hub.

The Machh Bridge, which was repaired three days ago in Quetta, broke once again, cutting off the ground connection of Machh to Quetta and other areas, while the river overflowed in Othel due to heavy rains.

Record-breaking rains

It may be recalled that the 36-year-old record of maximum rainfall in the month of August was broken at a single place in Karachi after the previous day’s rains.

According to Sindh government figures, 30 people have been killed in various accidents in Karachi since the start of the monsoon season on July 6 and rains on August 25.

Yesterday, four people were killed in various accidents due to rain, while a landslide in Gulistan-e-Jauhar buried several vehicles and motorcycles.

Earlier on August 24, the heaviest rainfall was recorded in Surjani Town where many areas are still underwater and residents are suffering severely. On the same day, two people were killed in accidents due to rain in the city.

On August 21, heavy rains flooded several areas across the province, while seven people, including two teenage boys, were killed in various accidents in the city of Quaid.

Earlier, intermittent thunderstorms lashed the city from August 6 to 9, killing nine people, while the city witnessed three spells of monsoon in July.