-So far 103 people killed due to rains, including 54 in Karachi, 33 in Punjab & 16 in KP
-Pakistan’s financial hub plunges into chaos with power cuts, streets under water & cell phone outages
From Zeeshan Mirza
Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah headed out on a tour of Karachi on Friday, a day after the city was wrecked by record torrential rains that led to the deaths of at least 19 people.
Major thoroughfares and roads in several parts of the city remain submerged in water and many areas continue to face power outages.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department data showed that as much as 84mm of rain was received in the Gulshan-e-Hadeed area of Karachi between 11am and 2pm on Friday. Other parts of the city received little to no rain. While, official figures showed that in total, floods killed 103 people in August across the country, including 54 in Karachi, 33 in Punjab and 16 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In an update on the power situation in the city, Karachi Electric said several areas were “inaccessible due to high water levels”.
The company further said that many of its vehicles on their way to areas such as DHA and Surjani, which are among the worst affected areas of the city, remain stranded. Power was restored in some areas, the company said, adding that its “teams are coordinating with relevant authorities to ensure swift power restoration to other locations”.
“Power will continue to remain closed until all standing water is cleared.”
Disruption in signals of several networks across the city was also reported, leading Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab to clarify that provincial authorities had not restricted the use of mobile phones for today. “The restriction will only be in selected areas where Muharram processions take place on the 9th & 10th,” he said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of cellular company Mobilink (Jazz) said the infrastructure in several areas of the city was damaged from flooding due to which services were disrupted. The company said technical teams were working to repair infrastructure and that services will be resumed as soon as possible. Replying to citizens on Twitter, Telenor said that services had been affected due to “maintenance activity” being carried out in the city.
Ufone also said that services had been affected due to the rainfall. “Rest assured our teams are working around the clock to restore services for you, as soon as possible,” the company said.
Later in the day, during a National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan told Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah that he will visit Karachi next week. “I will sit with you to draw up a complete plan to help Sindh government,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by a statement released by Sindh CM House. Chief Minister Shah thanked the prime minister for calling him and offering assistance. Shah said that Karachi had faced a “disaster” and added that rains had affected almost the entire Sindh province.
Earlier, Chief Minister Shah visited Nursery, Rashid Minhas Road and Yar Mohammad Goth among other areas, where he was briefed about the water drainage situation. On his visit to Yar Mohammad Goth, the chief minister heard complaints of power outages and other issues being faced by the residents. Shah also chided the people for “building houses in the belly of the Malir River”.
“The entire city is sinking because of your encroachments,” he said. “You blocked Malir River in the name of Agha Town”.
During his visit to Nursery, residents told Shah that the drainage system was badly affected due to construction on the right side of Sharae Faisal. The chief minister instructed the managing director of the Water Board to review the city’s master plan and submit a report on the matter. Shah said he wanted to know which of the buildings had affected water drainage in the metropolis. The CM was told that the drainpipe crossing Rashid Minhas road, which has caved in due to rain, has “contracted” resulting in the flooding of Drigh Road underpass. Officials said the underpass would be cleared of water as soon as it was drained by the pipe. The chief minister also directed authorities to repair the road in question.
Meanwhile, A fresh monsoon spell, which wreaked havoc on other parts of the country, also caused devastation in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claiming the lives of 16 people and injuring eight others, officials said on Friday.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), eight people died in Upper Kohistan, six in Swat and two in Shangla after heavy rainfall triggered flash floods. The authority added that five people were still missing and a rescue operation to recover them was underway.
The rains also partially damaged 25 homes while 29 others were completely wrecked, the authority said, adding that the PDMA director general and the Rescue 1122 director general were reviewing rescue and relief operations. Relief operations were underway in affected areas and necessary aid had been distributed to those affected in Swat, Chitral and Shahgram, the PDMA said. “Work on clearing blocked roads is also underway,” it said.
The authority is in contact with all district administrations and the PDMA’s emergency operation centre is also fully functional, it added. PDMA spokesperson Taimur Ali stated that the secretary relief and the director general, along with a team, had left for Swat to monitor relief activities, adding that food items and other essentials were being distributed among those affected by the floods.
However, locals in flood-hit areas told a different story when relating their ordeal. Residents of Shahgram and Teerat said that at least 45 houses had been washed away and their agricultural land had also been damaged. “Heavy rains started at 9pm last night causing the Shahgram stream to overflow,” said Akbar Ali, a local.
He added that majority of the residents had managed to evacuate in time. The residents also complained that relief activities were being carried out by local volunteers while rescue teams were only doing lip service.
Sharafat Ali, a resident of Shahgram who was busy salvaging his possessions from the wreckage of his home, said that no government department had helped him in recovering his belongings.
“Since morning, locals and my relatives have been lending me a hand. A Rescue 1122 team came but worked with us for only five minutes, took photos and left,” he said. He added that the floods had caused damage worth Rs10 million.
“We spent the whole night under an open sky on a mountain,” said Ataullah, a resident of Reshun village in Upper Chitral.
He added that the main connecting bridge and his home were completely swept away by the floods.
“We have lost everything to the floods. We are looking towards the government and the government is nowhere to be found,” he said, adding that the residents were also facing a shortage of drinking water.
7 family members drown
Meanwhile, Upper Kohistan Deputy Commissioner Arif Khan Yousufzai said that seven members of a family had drowned due to severe flooding in the area.
“Rescue 1122 teams and district administration officials are at the site,” he said, adding that more information on casualties and damages was being collected. He stated that the incident took place in a remote area.
Locals also helped in the rescue operation but only three bodies have been recovered so far, he said.
Bisham-Swat Road and other arteries linked to it were blocked at several points after landslides caused heavy boulders to fall on the thoroughfares. Mahodand-Kalam Road was also closed due to landslides caused by heavy rains.
Flash floods also destroyed parts of Bagh Dherai-Madyan Road at Teerat and Shahgram because of which traffic was transferred to Mingora-Kalam Road.
District Development Advisory Committee Chairman Fazal Hakim Khan, who visited the affected areas, said that the provincial government would give Rs500,000 to the families of the deceased and Rs100,000 to those injured.
Flash floods have been ravaging parts of KP this week after the province received monsoon rainfall. On Wednesday, floods washed away a bridge, a mosque and more than 20 houses in Chitral’s Reshun village.
The floods also submerged two villages in the Kalash valley of Rumbur, damaging 10 houses, a hotel and a government primary school on Tuesday evening.
