Two days of relentless rains leave at least 16 dead in Karachi

KARACHI:

At least 16 people, including women and children, lost their lives in various rain-related incidents across Karachi on Tuesday and Wednesday as the city was battered by heavy downpours. The fatalities occurred in wall collapses, electrocution, and drowning incidents reported in different neighborhoods.

Two children drowned on Wednesday in the nullah near Al-Asif Square near Sohrab Goth and in the C-1 Area drain of Liaquatabad. Edhi Maritime Services teams launched rescue operations at both sites but were forced to suspend efforts at nightfall. According to Edhi officials, the search for the missing children will resume Thursday morning.

Body of an unidentified 65-year-old man was recovered from a ditch filled with rainwater near New Sabzi Mandi on the Super Highway. The elderly person had apparently slipped into water in the dark. Moreover, body of a 15-year-old boy was found in a water-filled depression near Northern Bypass, Gulshan-e-Maymar. Police are searching for his heirs.

Body of a man, who had drowned in an open drain near Guru Mandir on Tuesday night, was retrieved by the rescue volunteers on Wednesday. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital where the deceased was identified as 50-year-old Muhammad Abbas, son of Muhammad Mohsin.

Abbas, his son and another man, were walking home during the heavy rain along the roadside in knee-deep water at around 10 pm on Tuesday, when they fell into an uncovered drain. People nearby managed to pull two of them out immediately, but Abbas went missing.

Rescue teams continued the search and recovered the body late in the night. The deceased was a resident of Soldier Bazaar. Police completed legal formalities and handed over the body to the family.

A private school’s wall collapsed onto jhuggis in Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 13, killing two women and two children on the spot and injuring several others. Later, a three-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries during treatment, raising the death toll in the incident to five. Among the victims were a mother and her two children.

According to Shahrae Faisal SHO Iftikhar Arain, the deceased included 25-year-old Kausar Afzal and her children three-year-old Hamza and four-year-old Maryam, and 28-year-old Samina Mubeen. On Wednesday, the death toll rose to five after a critically injured three-year-old girl, Samira, succumbed to her injuries during treatment.

In another incident, an eight-year-old boy, Abdullah, was killed when a house wall collapsed in Orangi Town’s Sector 11½. Cases of electrocution also claimed lives in multiple areas: a 24-year-old youth was electrocuted during Tuesday’s rain in DHA phase VI. The victim remains unidentified, said Darakhshan police station SHO Shahid Taj.

Another 24-year-old man identified as Saad Ali suffered fatal electric shock near PAF Base on Shahrae Faisal. Separately, 65-year-old Muhammad Ishaq died of electric shock at his home in North Karachi.

Additionally, 18-year-old Yasir died near the Defence Gizri Bridge where a live wire had fallen onto the road. Yasir was walking along the road when the snapped wire lying under water gave him a fatal shock. He died on the spot. His body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Hospital. Police, after completing legal formalities, handed over the body to the family.

NDMA warns of extremely heavy rainfall in Karachi

Earlier, National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) Emergency Operations Centre said extremely heavy rainfall is expected over the next 12–24 hours in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur and adjoining areas.

According to the statement, more than 50 to 100 millimetres of rain could fall in a short period. Owing to intense rainfall and inadequate drainage, the danger of urban flooding remains in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Mirpurkhas.

In addition, flash floods are feared in Thatta, Badin, Jamshoro and Dadu districts, while rising water levels in the Indus River and its tributaries could trigger flooding in low-lying areas.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the city’s recent downpour was part of the wider challenge of climate change, which has also destroyed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir in recent days.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, he said global warming and climate change were a reality and a test for administrations worldwide, citing the situations in New York, Dubai and Mumbai.

The mayor said the heavy rains left residents facing difficulties, with criticism and political point-scoring further exacerbating the situation. He noted that Karachi’s stormwater drains have a capacity of only 40mm. “When rainfall exceeds this amount, consequences become evident,” he said.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the heaviest rainfall was recorded in Saadi Town (181.8mm) and Gulshan-e-Hadeed (181mm). Other significant totals were logged at Keamari (173mm), Airport Old Area (163.5mm), Jinnah Terminal (156.4mm), Surjani Town (163.8mm), Nazimabad (175.6mm), North Karachi (148.8mm), University Road (149.4mm), Korangi (143.3mm), DHA Phase VII (138mm), PAF Faisal Base (134mm), Gulshan-e-Maymar (135.6mm), PAF Masroor Base (112mm) and Orangi Town (82.7mm).

Sindh extends school closure

Educational institutions across Karachi will remain closed on Thursday due to heavy rains that have disrupted daily life in the city, the Sindh education department said in a notification.

The closure applies to all public and private schools and colleges. “In view of the weather and city situation, all educational institutions in Karachi will remain shut tomorrow,” the department said in a statement.

Separately, Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) announced that it would remain closed on August 21 due to the prevailing weather conditions. However, online classes and academic activities would continue as scheduled. “All examinations have been postponed until further notice. Online classes will be supervised by the university leadership,” a spokesperson said.