Mayor declares emergency after 145mm downpour floods residential neighbourhoods, key intersections
KARACHI
Heavy downpour in Karachi on Tuesday brought life to a standstill, triggering urban flooding, power outages and leaving at least eight people dead coupled with power outages in several areas.
Authorities have advised people to avoid commuting, as many returning from work and school remain stranded with water rising several feet in areas, including Malir — a situation reminiscent of the devastating 2022 rains.
Intermittent downpours continued to lash Karachi throughout the day, leaving much of the city submerged. Several neighbourhoods, including Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Korangi Crossing, Liaquatabad, Baldia Town, Rafah-e-Aam, and Shah Faisal Colony, reported rainwater entering homes.
In some areas, particularly Malir and North Karachi, water levels rose to around four feet, forcing residents to abandon vehicles and wade through flooded streets.
Traffic came to a grinding halt on key arteries including, Sharea Faisal, University Road, and II Chundrigar Road. Vehicles broke down on waterlogged streets, with long queues seen on Nagan Chowrangi, Hub River Road, and Miran Naka, where commuters remained stuck for hours.
The flooding also inundated low-lying neighbourhoods in Surjani Town, North Nazimabad’s Shadman Town, and several areas of District Malir.
Moreover, a wall of a house collapsed in Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 12, resulting in four casualties and injuring two others, said rescue officials. Meanwhile, another wall collapse in Orangi killed a child, while other people killed in rain-related incidents, pushing the death toll to eight.
A Met Office spokesperson said the next two days are critical for Karachi with regards to rain and added that the port city likely to receive more heavy rainf on August 20 and 21.
As per the Met Office’s statistics, the highest rainfall was recorded at Karachi airport (125mm) followed by Gulistan-e-Jauhar (122mm), Nazimabad (29 millimetres), Gulshan-e-Hadeed (75mm), University Road (59mm), Sharea Faisal (17mm), Gulshan-e-Maymar (11mm), airport (13mm), Korangi (14.6mm), Saadi Town (24mm), Orangi (12.2mm) and Keamari (30mm).
The heavy showers also disrupted flight operations at Jinnah International Airport. At least eight flights were cancelled and 20 others delayed, with several inbound flights diverted to other cities. A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Skardu (PK-456) was redirected to an alternate airport, while a Dubai-Karachi flight operated by Flydubai (FZ-335) was diverted to Multan.
