KARACHI:
Life in Pakistan’s largest city slowly began to return to motion on Wednesday after a relentless monsoon downpour a day earlier brought Karachi to its knees, leaving roads submerged, power lines downed, and homes damaged.
Authorities said major roads were cleared of stagnant water by morning, though the scars of Tuesday’s deluge were still visible across the metropolis. The Sindh government, which had declared a public holiday on Tuesday, extended the closure of schools and colleges until Thursday as fresh showers swept in.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), at least 10 people have so far lost their lives in rain-related incidents including electrocutions, roof collapses, and urban flooding in the city of over 20 million residents.
The NDMA’s Emergency Operations Centre has warned of “extremely heavy rainfall” in Karachi and other districts of Sindh, cautioning residents to remain alert as another monsoon system approaches. “Another rain spell is expected by the end of the month,” NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik said.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast widespread showers accompanied by gusty winds and thunderstorms in lower and central Sindh, as well as southern Balochistan, on Thursday. It also warned that low-lying parts of Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Sajawal, Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, and adjoining districts could face urban flooding.
Officials further cautioned that intense rainfall, windstorms, and lightning may damage vulnerable structures such as kacha houses, billboards, solar panels, vehicles, and electricity poles. In Balochistan, rain and thunderstorms are likely in Gwadar, Lasbela, Ormara, Pasni, Kech, Khuzdar, Kalat, Quetta, and Ziarat, with chances of heavy falls in some areas.
For Karachi’s residents, many of whom waded through waist-deep water to get home on Tuesday, the latest warnings are a grim reminder that the monsoon season is far from over.
