KARACHI – Residents ofthe port city woke up to showers for the second morning as the city braces for a real storm. Met Office sounded the alarm as a raging monsoon system is heading straight for the metropolis, bringing with it “very heavy downpours,” hurricane-like winds, and a terrifying risk of urban flooding.
Pakistan Meteorological Department said provincial capital could be hammered with over 100 millimetres of rainfall today alone, enough to turn streets into rivers and neighborhoods into islands.
The new system could bring intense rainfall to the city, already fragile to handle normal rains, as winds could roar at 70 km/h. Low-lying areas may be swallowed by floodwaters, while the city’s crumbling drainage is unlikely to survive the assault.
Authorities are scrambling mid-week, while Traffic police are on alert to prevent jams, and K-Electric has gone on high alert, cutting power in vulnerable zones.
Monsoon rainshave claimed so far 60 lives in Sindh. With the current spell expected to lash Karachi and other districts until September 10, the city waits in dread.
Besides Karachi, widespread rain-windstorm and thundershower are expected in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Thatta, Badin, Sukkur, Khairpur, Dadu, Jamshoro, Matiari, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, Hyderabad, Sajawal, Jacobabad and Ghotki.
