No respite expected for Sindh as monsoon showers to continue tomorrow
No respite was expected for Sindh residents as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday predicted “widespread wind-thunderstorm/rain” across various cities of the province till tomorrow.
Meanwhile, light rain in the morning disrupted the traffic flow in various parts of Karachi, prompting the traffic police to issue precautionary measures for commuters.
The city received the heaviest rain of the current monsoon season on Sunday, with major roads submerged and the country’s disaster management body warning of urban flooding in the metropolis.
According to a weather alert issued today by the PMD, “widespread wind-thunderstorm/rain with few moderate/heavy falls” are to continue in Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Kambar Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Larkana, Dadu, Naushahro Feroze, Shaheed Benazirabad, Ghotki, Sukkur, Sanghar, Matiari, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Jamshoro and Khairpur districts till August 6 (tomorrow).
The “thunderstorm/rain with few moderate to isolated heavy falls” was expected in the Karachi division, and Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allah Yar, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, and Tharparkar districts till tomorrow.
The alert warned of possible impacts including “waterlogging” in low-lying areas of the province — including Khairpur, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas and Umerkot — as well as flash flooding in streams in the Dadu, Kambar Shahdadkot, Jacobabad and Jamshoro areas.
The department warned that heavy downpours and windstorms may cause the roofs of mudhouses to collapse and impact electric poles, billboards, and solar panels. Farmers were also advised to manage their activities keeping in view the weather forecast.
In Karachi, the Met Office has deemed the weather for today and tomorrow as “cloudy with chances of intermittent rain/showers with few moderate falls”. For Wednesday, it predicted “cloudy with chances of light rain/drizzle”.
A maximum temperature of 30-32°C has been forecast for all three days, while at night, the mercury is likely to drop to 27°C on Monday and range between 26-29 on August 6-7.
For the next two days, humidity in the morning would range between 80-90pc while in the evening it is predicted to be between 70-80pc, the forecast said.
Roof collapse
Meanwhile, two men were killed and five others were injured when a residential building collapsed near Chakiwara Police Station in Karachi’s Old Lyari, according to Sindh Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hasan Al Seeb.
Rescue 1122 dispatched the Urban Search and Rescue Team and a Disaster Response Vehicle to the incident scene, from where the bodies were recovered from under the rubble during a rescue operation.
The deceased have been identified as 30-year-old Hussain and 28-year-old Mansoor while the five injured were identified as 20-year-old Kamran, 37-year-old Shakoor, 35-year-old Musa, 30-year-old Aftab, and 30-year-old Abdul Rehman.
Light rain throws traffic into chaos
Earlier today, light rain in Karachi disrupted the flow of traffic in various parts of the metropolis.
The Karachi Traffic Police (KTP) advised drivers and motorcyclists to reduce their speed as light drizzle left roads slippery, according to a statement posted on X.
Sudden braking should be avoided, it cautioned, adding that motorcyclists should use the left side of the road while commuting.
At 11am, the KTP said that the flow of traffic has been restored from Teen Hatti towards Gurumandar, Chowrangi No.1 to Lasbela, as well as from Sharea Faisal towards parts of the main city and from Rashid Minhas Road to Drigh Road.
In North Nazimabad, traffic flow was affected as rainwater submerged the first and second lanes of the road opposite Mateen Food Centre near Five Star Chowrangi, an update from 10:52am said.
It added that vehicles were being diverted to the third and service lanes of the road, slowing the traffic flow.
At Bagh-i-Korangi road between Singer Chowrangi and Shah Faisal Colony, traffic had been restored at 10:36am, another KTP statement said.
Vehicles were also diverted from Fawara Chowk and Thana Street to Zainab Market and M.R. Kiyani Chowrangi, respectively, as the road between the former locations was closed to traffic from both sides, an update from 10:02am said.
According to a statement posted at 9:40am, traffic coming from Hasan Square was being diverted to University Road via Hasan Bridge due to depressions in the road caused by work done by the Karachi Sewage and Water Board (KWSB).
Due to sewerage water overflowing in front of Rado Bakery in Gulistan-i-Johar, traffic from one side had been diverted to a one-way road on the turn from Awami Colony to Rado Bakery.