KARACHI: The government in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province has declared Monday a public holiday in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions, after monsoon downpours killed two people and inundated large swathes. 

Heavy rain started lashing southern Pakistan Sunday morning and continued till evening, triggering flash floods in many areas. The casualties, which occurred in the port city of Karachi, bring the death toll from monsoon rains to 312 since mid-June, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). 

A Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) report said the port city had received up to 104 millimeters of rain by 8pm on Sunday, while PMD Director Sardar Sarfaraz told Arab News the city was expected to receive more rain overnight. 

“Due to heavy rainfall which is expected to continue even tomorrow, the Sindh government has decided to declare Monday, the 25th of July, as a public holiday in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions,” Murtaza Wahab, the Karachi administrator who also speaks for the Sindh government, said on Twitter Sunday. 

Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed confirmed both casualties in Karachi resulted from electrocution amid Sunday’s downpour. In the first case, she said, a 40-year-old man was brought dead to Civil Hospital from the city’s Lea Market area. 

“In the second incident, a 17-year-old was brought dead to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital,” Syed added. 

Videos shared online on Sunday showed several roads and thoroughfares flooded with rain water, which also entered homes in Nazimabad area of the city. 

Imran Rana, a spokesperson for Karachi’s sole power distributor K-Electric, urged citizens to remain cautious while using electrical appliances and maintain a safe distance from billboards and street light poles. 

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon also urged private sector organizations to keep their businesses closed on Monday. 

Separately on Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instructed federal and provincial authorities to stay vigilant after the country’s meteorological department predicted more rains and floods in parts of the country. 

“Safety of life and property of people living in low-lying areas must be ensured,” the prime minister was quoted in a statement issued by his office. 

Around 30 houses were partially damaged in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province due to torrential rains in the last 48 hours, while 15 were completely destroyed in floods, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). 

The Met Office also warned of bad weather in the southwestern Balochistan province, where a woman lost her life due to heavy flooding in Dera Bugti area on Saturday. 

Balochistan has also suffered the highest death toll in recent rains, with PDMA officials in Quetta confirming the loss of 100 lives since the beginning of the monsoon season last month. 

They also noted that over 6,000 houses were damaged in Balochistan in the last few weeks, while people had also lost their livestock in substantial numbers.