LAHOR/ISLAMABAD: The sky across the country remained overcast bringing showers in various cities of Punjab and Sindh including Lahore and Karachi on Saturday while nine persons including three children were injured in separate roof-collapse incidents during rain in provincial capital, here on Saturday.
The intermittent rain continued pummeling different parts of the country, submerging low-lying areas and tripping electricity feeders. There was light to heavy showers in Lahore since Saturday morning which continued till evening. The low-lying areas in the city have been inundated and Lesco’s electricity transmission system has buckled under the pouring rain.
On the other hand, nine persons including three children were injured in separate roof-collapse incidents during rain in provincial capital, here on Saturday.
Police and rescuers informed that three girls were sleeping in a room of a house at Azhar Town in Nishtar Town area when roof of the house collapsed. As a result, all girls were buried under the debris. On receiving information, Rescue-1122 vehicles reached the spot and started rescue operation. They pulled the injured from under the debris and shifted them to Lahore General Hospital. The injured were identified as Sadia Babar (18), Aalia Babar (13) and Amina Pervez.
In another incident, six persons were asleep when roof their house collapsed. As a result, all persons were buried under the debris. The rescuers reached the spot and started operation. They pulled the injured from under debris. Two of them namely Afzal Malik (45), Sonia Afzal (35) were shifted to Mayo Hospital while remaining four people including Ghulam Abbas (36), Tania Abbas (30), Kaneez Fatima (7) and Dua Fatima (4) were given the first aid on the spot.
Rain is also lashing other cities of Punjab including Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sahiwal, Jhelum, Attock, Chakwal, Mianwali, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Layyah, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, and Taunsa.
In Sindh, Karachi has been receiving Monsoon showers since last night. Moderate rain hit New Nazimabad, Federal B Area, Samanabad, Azizabad, Shah Faisal, and North Nazimabad.
This year’s monsoon has so far resulted in the loss of at least 50 lives since June 25, according to data released by the National Disaster Management Agency yesterday. Additionally, over 80 individuals sustained injuries due to multiple incidents.
The Punjab capital also witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall on Saturday.
As per the data provided by the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), the area around Nishtar Town Director’s Office recorded the highest rainfall of 85 millimetres, followed by Johar Town SDO Office with 70mm, Lakshmi Chowk 44mm, Gulshan-e-Ravi 41mm, Iqbal Town SDO Office 38mm, and the airport area 27mm of rainfall today between 6am and 11:30am.
CM inspects water drainage process in city
Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited different areas of the provincial metropolis during rain on Saturday and inspected water drainage process at Kalma Chowk Underpass, Garden Town, Gulberg, Liberty, Jail Road, Mozang, Qartaba Chowk, Shahra-i-Fatima Jinnah and Lawrence Road.
Mohsin Naqvi expressed his satisfaction over water drainage work in the city. He inspected the under-construction water drainage at the Kalma Chowk Underpass and issued directions for its early completion.
Mohsin Naqvi met the workers busy in water drainage at the underpass and commended them for timely draining out water. He directed that water drainage on the Gaddafi Stadium to Liberty road should be ensured at the earliest.
The caretaker CM acknowledged the services of the Lahore district administration and WASA for working in a proactive manner, adding that relevant teams were present in the field.
CCPO Lahore also accompanied the caretaker CM.
All machinery activated in Lahore to drain out rainwater
Local Government & Community Development Secretary Dr Irshad Ahmad has said that monsoon rains are occurring in various districts of Punjab and the department has activated its machinery for on-time water drainage.
He was chairing a video-link meeting with the chief officers regarding the arrangements made for monsoon rains on Saturday. He noted that the department had taken proactive measures by mobilising its complete machinery for efficient drainage operations.
Across all divisions, including Lahore, a total of 1,245 dewatering sets have actively been functioning. In addition, there are 1,081 tractors, 671 trolleys and 115 jetting machines deployed in the field, he added. Furthermore, 129 sucker machines and 472 fog machines are actively involved in the drainage operations, while 1,044 spray pumps have been fully activated to tackle heavy rainfall. It is essential to utilise all available resources effectively to drain out water from low-lying areas, he stressed.
SMBR visits flood monitoring control room at PDMA offices
Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR) and Relief Commissioner Punjab Nabeel Javed visited the Control Room of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) here on Saturday to assess the monitoring of the potential flood situation.
PDMA Director General Imran Qureshi and other officials briefed the visiting official about preparations to address the recent rainfall and the potential risk of floods. He highlighted that more rainfall was expected in various cities of Punjab till Sunday, and currently water flow in rivers was within normal limits.
He cautioned that in the event of water release by India, there is a possibility of floods in the rivulets, connected to Ravi and Chenab rivers. Additionally, due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, watercourses may also face the risk of flooding. The DG emphasised that if the water flow reaches 600,000 cusecs, 62 locations in the Gujranwala division may be affected by floods.
Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed stressed the importance of effective monitoring from the Provincial Control Room and reiterated the need to constantly update line departments. He emphasised the vigilance required in monitoring the flow of water in rivers and canals and issued instructions to deputy commissioners and others across the province, emphasising the need to ensure proper drainage of water in the field during rainfall.
Thunderstorm likely to persist in Sindh
Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday predicted partly cloudy weather and thunderstorm for most parts of the Sindh province including Karachi during the next 24 hours.
The thunderstorm and heavy falls are predicted in Karachi, Hyderabad, Tharparkar, Mithi, Padidan, Umerkot, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Ghotki, Thatta, Dadu, Badin Shaheed Benazirabad and suburbs.
The Minimum and maximum temperatures recorded in °C: Karachi 38-40, Hyderabad 39-41, Sukkur 38-40 , Thatta 38-40, Mohenjodaro 39-40, Dadu 38-40, Mithi 33-38, and in Nawabshah 41-43.
River Kabul continues to flow in low flood: FFC
The Federal Flood Commission (FFC) has said that river Kabul continues to run in low flood while all major rivers of the country are presently flowing normal.
According to daily FFC report on Saturday at present combined live storage of three major reservoirs show healthy position (59.52% of total 13.443 MAF as against 16.33% last year).
Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) Lahore predicted high to very high-level flooding in River Chenab and associated Nullahs of rivers Ravi and Chenab during Sunday and Monday.
Flash flooding in the hill torrents of D.G. Khan Division and local Nullahs of Northern Balochistan is also likely in next 48 hours.
Deep trough of westerly wave continues to prevail over Northern parts of Pakistan whereas Seasonal Low lies over Balochistan. Moderate to strong monsoon currents from Bay of Bengal and light to moderate monsoon currents from Arabian Sea are penetrating into the upper parts of Pakistan upto 10,000 feet as a consequence of upper air cyclonic circulation which presently is prevailing over Northwestern Madhya Pradesh (India).
Widespread wind thunderstorm/rain with heavy falls at scattered places and very heavy falls at isolated places over Gujranwala & Lahore Divisions (Punjab) including over the upper catchments of rivers Chenab, Ravi & Sutlej is expected in next 24 hours.
Scattered wind thunderstorm rain of moderate intensity with isolated heavy falls over rest of the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Kalat, Naseerabad, Loralai, Sibbi & Zhob Divisions of Balochistan is also expected besides over the upper catchments of rivers Indus and Jhelum.
