At least 42 people lost their lives as heavy rains lashed the length and breadth of the country on Saturday, heaping misery on the helpless and mocking the administrators’ helplessness.

Twenty deaths took place in Sindh — 11 of them in Karachi alone — while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for 15 of the dead and Balochistan seven.

While KP and Balochistan continued to bear the fury of rampaging rivers, Karachi and Hyderabad owed their agony more to the administration’s apathy than nature’s wrath. Thousands of people living in low-lying areas lost their homes, many neighbourhoods went through long power breakdowns and endless traffic jams tested the patience of commuters.

The administration in Hyderabad sought assistance of the army after rain flooded several parts of the province’s second largest city.

In Karachi at least 11 people lost their lives in rain-related incidents, including electrocution and drowning. The meteorological department recorded up to 126 millimetres (almost five inches) of rain. The inaction of the administration prompted the province’s local bodies minister to suspend Karachi’s municipal services chief after accusing him of having failed to meet the challenge.

“The Sindh chief minister has removed KMC administrator Hashim Raza Zaidi on my recommendation,” Sindh local bodies minister Owais Muzaffar told Dawn. “Incompetence is the major reason and definitely he has failed to manage the city on the first rain of the season. We are trying our best to keep the rain-related system intact and wherever human error is found in maintaining this, the officials concerned would be punished.”

With downpour, came the power outages as electricity supply to several areas was suspended. A spokesman for the Karachi Electricity Supply Company said that 103 of the KESC’s 1,350 feeders in Karachi tripped due to the rain.

In other parts of Sindh, torrential rain and light to moderate showers killed at least eight people and injured a number of others. There were reports of power outages lasting five to 20 hours. And in many cities, towns and rural areas, electricity could not be restored as rain either did not stop or continued intermittently till late in the evening.

Light to heavy downpour started pounding Sukkur, Larkana, Rohri, Pannu Aqil, Salehpat, Ghotki, Khanpur Mehar, Mirpur Mathelo, Daharki, Ubauro, Thull, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Kandhkot, Ghouspur, Tangwani and other areas of upper Sindh on Friday evening.

HYDERABAD: Life in Hyderabad was paralysed by a heavy spell of rain that lasted three hours in the afternoon. Almost all the main arteries and localities in Hyderabad, including Qasimabad and Latifabad, were inundated. Sewerage and drainage system failed to cope with rainwater mixed with filth and garbage.

“If the rains continue as predicted by the Met office, we would need army’s assistance for rescue of people stuck up in low-lying areas. The municipal administration has limited resources and manpower which would not be enough to handle the situation,” said an official.

The situation drew a strong reaction from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, (MQM) which governed the municipal administrations of Karachi and Hyderabad for four years.

In a statement, MQM chief Altaf Hussain called for immediate measures for rain relief in the two cities.

“The Sindh government should appoint Mustafa Kamal and Kunwar Naveed Jameel as caretaker Nazims of Karachi and Hyderabad, respectively,” he said. “I feel it my responsibility to convey thoughts of Karachi and Hyderabad citizens to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali shah. Sindh cities have been left abandoned in this crisis like situation, which demands immediate action from the authorities concerned.”

BALOCHISTAN: The rains caused heavy damage to property and claimed seven lives in Jhal Magsi, Loralai and Hub.

Four children and a woman were killed when the roof of a house collapsed in Bela’s Jam Colony following torrential rains in the region.

“Army has been put on alert due to worsening flood situation in Jhal Magsi and other areas of the province,” Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad said. The provincial government released Rs30 million for relief operation.

“Five districts of the province were badly affected due to heavy rains and floods,” officials said.

Heavy rains and flooding disrupted the train service and two major trains were stopped at Jacobabad, before entering Balochistan, because the tracks were inundated.

A discharge of 125,000 cusecs of water in Mola River of Jhalawan inundated Jhal Magsi and Kachhi plains. The discharge of Nari Bank was 80,000 cusecs.

Both the rivers take the discharge towards Kachhi and Naseerabad division. On the way, they inundated hundreds of villages, destroying houses, people’s belongings, cattle and crops beside food and fodder stock.

In Naseerabad, rains continued to pour for 15 hours, inundating the entire region, including over half a million acres of crops.

The cotton and paddy crops were extensively damaged, growers said.

The entire Jaffarabad town was swamped. The Metrological Department issued flood warnings for Sibi, Jhal Magsi, Naseerabad, Zhob, Kalat and Makran divisions for the next 12 hours.

In Jhal Magsi district, the heavy rain submerged 25 villages. Ali Murad of Goth Dildar Khan Akhwani was swept away by floodwater.

Floodwater from Mola River demolished the boundary wall of Goth Badal Khan Rind police and entered Gandawah town. People of the town were asked to move to safe places.

The highway linking the district wit other areas was under water.

Jhal Magsi Deputy Commissioner Tariqur Rehman said: “We have asked people to migrate to safe locations.”

Balochistan government spokesman Jan Buledi said the provincial irrigation secretary and PDMA DG had been asked to visit the district.

Heavy rain continued for eight hours in Naseerabad and three hours in Suhbat Pur, submerging several villages and damaging mud houses. In Sibi, 80,000 cusecs of floodwater was passing through Nari River. The district DC said volunteers had opened all gates of the river and many villages of Kachhi were under threat.

The Metrological Department said the rains were likely to end by Sunday afternoon.

In Loralai, at least 20 mud houses collapsed in floodwater.

Abdul Malik, a teacher, was killed when a car was swept away, while three other people were saved by local volunteers.

Rainwater entered homes in Hazara Colony and police lines.

Zhob Commissioner Asad Gilani visited the affected areas and urged people to shift to a nearby government school.

In Lasbela district, rainwater entered three villages of Lakhara tehsil.

PDMA Director General Khalid Baloch said people of the affected areas had been shifted to safe places and provided tents, food and ration.

Jhal Magsi was the worst hit with 25 villages washed away, he said, adding that the situation was under control but the damaged roads would be reopened after two days.

He said boats had been sent for rescue work in Jaffarabad and Jhal Magsi.

KP & FATA: In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, 15 people were killed and at least seven others injured.

Several streams and water courses in southern parts of the province were in high flood, officials said.

Six people, a woman among them, were killed when hill torrents swept away a pickup truck in the Jandola Frontier Region adjoining South Waziristan.

Tank, Jandola and parts of South Waziristan received widespread rains which triggered flash floods.

Road link between Tank and Dera Ismail Khan was cut by floodwater.

Flash floods damaged houses in Alikhel, Waroki, Janki and Abizar in South Waziristan and people started moving to safe places.

A man and his three daughters were killed and another member of the family injured when a house collapsed in Mosizai area of Kurram Agency.

Gul Nawab was killed and four others injured when a residential compound collapsed due to heavy rains in Bannu district. Flash floods killed a seven-year-old boy in Tajikhel area and inundated low lying villages along the Kurram River. A woman was electrocuted to death in Norar area.

In Lakki Marwat, a girl was killed as a two-day spell of consistent downpour played havoc in parts of the district and adjoining tribal area.

Earlier, five people were killed by floods and rains in Khyber Agency, Peshawar and other parts of Pakhtunkhwa.

The rains disrupted the power supply system and more than 10 transformers were damaged in Kohat.

The water level in River Kabul and its tributaries flowing through Peshawar valley receded and local people started returning to their homes. An emergency had been declared in areas close to the river when 50,000 cusecs of water entered it from Chitral on Friday night. The main road between Peshawar and Charsadda was reopened after recession of water level in Budhani Nullah.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority said relief goods had been dispatched to the affected areas of Chitral district.