Hyderabad/Tharparkar — Widespread pre-monsoon showers swept across Sindh on Thursday and Friday, offering a much-needed respite from the intense heat but also triggering a wave of power outages, urban flooding, and tragic incidents that disrupted daily life across the province.
While residents welcomed the drop in temperature, the rains exposed long-standing infrastructure weaknesses in major cities, particularly Hyderabad, where poor drainage, collapsing power lines, and dangerous road conditions left the public grappling with chaos.
Tragedy in Tando Jam
The most devastating incident occurred in Tando Jam, Hyderabad, where the roof of a seminary collapsed during Thursday night’s rain, claiming the lives of two children and injuring 11 others, most of them children. Two adults, including a woman, were also hurt. The tragedy has sparked fresh outrage over the structural safety of public and religious institutions in the province.
PMD Rainfall Report
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) recorded varying rainfall intensities across Sindh by 5:30 pm on Friday, including:
- 53mm in Tharparkar
- 49mm in Shaheed Benazirabad
- 43mm in Hyderabad
- 24mm in Mirpurkhas
- 18mm in Badin
- 16mm each in Thatta and Sukkur
Several towns in Shaheed Benazirabad were among the worst affected, with reports of rainwater flooding homes and damaging markets.
Power Grid Buckles in Hyderabad
In Hyderabad, dozens of trees and transmission poles belonging to Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) were uprooted, plunging neighborhoods into prolonged blackouts. HESCO spokesperson Sadiq Kubar said that five major poles carrying electricity from Qasimabad Grid Station to Sarfaraz Baba Feeder had collapsed on Horse Ground, halting supply to a vast section of the city.
Residents also complained of disrupted cellular networks, further hampering communication during emergencies.
Drainage Nightmare and Traffic Gridlock
The rains laid bare the flawed engineering of roads and drainage networks, as puddles of sewage-mixed rainwater accumulated in low-lying areas, turning streets into hazardous watercourses. Key roads like Shahrah-e-Miran Muhammad Shah, Auto Bhan Road, Liaquat Colony, and American Quarters were submerged, causing severe traffic jams and delays.
The road leading to Qadam Gah Moula Ali (RA) was under knee-deep water, complicating access for mourning processions and daily visitors alike.
Urban Flooding Across Hyderabad
Flooding was reported in Latifabad (all units), Qasimabad Phases I & II, Pakistan Chowk, Sarfaraz Colony, Timber Market Road, Tando Yusuf, Phuleli, Noorani Basti, and Goods Naka. Roads in these areas remained waterlogged for hours, rendering them impassable and forcing people to wade through knee-deep water.
In many commercial areas, rainwater entered shops, damaging merchandise worth millions. In densely populated residential neighborhoods, the water invaded drawing rooms and basements, raising concerns over structural safety and health hazards.
The second consecutive day of heavy rain in Hyderabad, Sindh’s second-largest city, led to the virtual collapse of daily life, with key roads submerged, homes flooded, and municipal services overwhelmed. Drainage systems buckled under pressure, while roads caved in, creating deep potholes and further endangering commuters.
Even graveyards were not spared — many became completely waterlogged, making burials nearly impossible and highlighting the lack of emergency preparedness.
As the monsoon season officially approaches, Friday’s scenes have served as a sobering reminder of how unprepared Sindh’s urban centers remain, and how quickly relief from the heat can turn into a humanitarian and infrastructural crisis.
