KARACHI: Intermittent rainfall in different parts of the southern port city of Karachi on Sunday made life difficult for thousands of citizens, after heavy rain last night triggered urban flooding and power outages in many parts of Pakistan’s largest city.
Karachi, the capital of the southern Sindh province, suffers from urban flooding each year, causing people to die from drowning and electrocution. Experts have criticized authorities for failing to unclog the city’s large drains due to which water accumulates on its streets.
Heavy rainfall on Saturday left many parts of the city submerged with water, including the Shahrah-e-Faisal road, Old City area, Drigh Road, NIPA flyover, Tariq Road and Natha Khan area, among others.
Footage on social media showed cars stranded in floodwater in many parts of the country, especially at the busy Shahrah-e-Faisal thoroughfare, which connects Karachi’s many areas to the airport.
“A light to moderate rain was expected last night but unexpectedly, widespread heavy rainfall triggered massive urban flooding in Karachi,” Sardar Sarfraz, director of the Meteorological Department, told Arab News.
Sarfraz said many parts of the city received heavy rain, particularly the Faisal base area.
“Seventy-five millimeters of rain has been recorded at Faisal base, which will increase as rainfall continues,” he said, adding that in the 1990s, 96 millimeters of rainfall in the area was recorded.
He warned that if it continued to rain in Karachi, the record could break.
Weather expert Jawed Memon said that while the rain would stop, a fresh cold wave would grip the city in the days to come.
“Chances of rain in Karachi will persist till tonight,” Memon told Arab News. “From tomorrow onwards, the weather will clear up, but the current heavy rain spell is triggering urban flooding in many areas of the city, especially major roads.”
In a video posted on social media platform X in the wee hours of Sunday, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui said water stands accumulated in certain areas such as the Old City, Clock Tower, and M.A. Jinnah Road.
K-Electric, Karachi’s sole power-generating and distributing company, said light was restored in the city in the morning.
Experts have cited the failure of successive governments administrating Karachi to ensure its infrastructure keeps pace with its rapidly rising population as the main reason rainfall triggers urban flooding every year in the metropolis.
The absence of functioning drainage systems, poor infrastructure and encroachments on stormwater drains also contribute to urban flooding in the city.
