KARACHI – August 19:
Intermittent showers on Tuesday morning turned large parts of Karachi into waterlogged zones, disrupting traffic and exposing once again the city’s fragile infrastructure. While residents welcomed the break from sweltering heat, the downpour quickly left many struggling to navigate inundated roads.
The heaviest showers were reported in Keamari, which recorded 29mm of rainfall, followed closely by Nazimabad at 28mm. Several other areas, including Model Colony in Malir, Surjani Town, Korangi, Shah Faisal Colony, II Chundrigar Road, and Sharea Faisal, also received significant showers.
“Just a little rain was enough to flood the road outside my house. I couldn’t even leave for work,” complained a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, summing up the ordeal of thousands stuck in traffic jams caused by submerged routes.
According to figures released by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Gulshan-e-Hadeed received 15mm of rain, Orangi Town 12.2mm, the Old City area 10.8mm, and Sharea Faisal 8mm, while smaller showers were recorded in University Road, Super Highway, Saadi Town, and Gulshan-e-Maymar. The Met Office has forecast more isolated showers in Karachi till August 23, warning of moderate to heavy rainfall in parts of Sindh, including Hyderabad, Jacobabad, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, and Tharparkar.
But for Karachi’s commuters, the immediate concern was battered roads. A section of Landi Kotal Chowrangi in North Nazimabad caved in, bringing traffic to a standstill. Locals complained that repair work had yet to begin, forcing traffic police to divert vehicles to alternate routes.
The rain also triggered power outages in several neighborhoods, though K-Electric claimed that over 1,770 feeders out of 2,100 remained operational. “Power is temporarily suspended in low-lying and high-risk areas as a precaution,” a KE spokesperson explained, adding that ground staff had been deployed to handle emergencies.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, anticipating the impact of monsoon rains, convened an emergency meeting a day earlier. He instructed city officials, the traffic police, and local governments to stay on high alert. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab briefed the CM on ongoing desilting work at 44 critical drainage choke points to improve water flow, though Tuesday’s flooding made it clear much more needs to be done.
The crisis in Karachi is part of a wider monsoon emergency across Pakistan. The death toll from rain-related incidents nationwide has climbed to 660, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa worst hit at 392 deaths. Punjab has reported 164 fatalities, Gilgit-Baltistan 32, Sindh 29, Balochistan 20, Azad Kashmir 15, and Islamabad eight. Another 935 people have been injured in various rain and flood-related accidents.
For Karachi’s residents, however, the concern remains more immediate: whether the city’s drainage systems, long clogged and neglected, can withstand the next spell of heavy rain that is forecast for the days ahead.
