Met office predicts another spell of rain, thunderstorm in Karachi tonight
A spell of moderate to heavy rain, coupled with winds and thunderstorm, is expected in all districts of lower Sindh including Karachi till late night on Friday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
The meteorological department said rains were expected to continue till Saturday in central and upper Sindh under the influence of the monsoon low pressure system which persists over southeast Sindh and its adjoining areas.
The persistent rain or showers may create water logging in low-lying areas of Karachi, Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta, Sukkur, Larkana, Dadu and Shaheed Banazirabad districts during the period, the Met department warned.
The report further highlighted that the next monsoon-rainy spell was expected in Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Sanghar, Sukkur, Larkana and Dadu districts from Monday to Tuesday.
Heavy rains predicted
The Met office said strong monsoon currents were likely to penetrate upper parts of the country from Sunday evening and may persist till Wednesday.
Under the influence of the coming weather system, thundershowers are expected in “Kashmir, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Okara, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Sargodha, Mianwali, Khushab, Dir, Swat, Buner, Kohistan, Shangla, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda, Nowshera, Peshawar, Waziristan, Kurrum, Bannu, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Karak , Dera Ismail Khan and Gilgit-Baltistan (Ghizer, Astore, Diamer, Skardu, Gilgit, Hunza Nagar, Ghanche and Kharmang)”.
It also forecast heavy rains from Monday evening to Thursday in Balochistan and adjoining areas.
“Rain/wind-thundershower (with isolated heavy falls) is expected in Bhakkar, Layyah, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Multan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sibbi, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Kohlu, Loralai, Barkhan, Zhob, Musa Khel, Quetta, Ziarat, Harnai, Qila Saifullah, Qila Abdullah, Larkana, Sukkur, Jaccobabad, Tharparkar, Sanghar, Umerkot and Mirpurkhas,” the department said in a statement.
Three die in rain-related incidents
At least three people died in rain-related incidents when moderate to heavy rain lashed Karachi on Thursday night, police said.
They said all of the victims lost their lives due to electrocution, following the downpour.
In one of the incidents that also became a subject of debate on social media, a man died when he slipped from his motorbike and reportedly came in contact with a live electric wire in Azizabad area on late Thursday night.
Initially, the police said in a statement that Raheel Arif, 35, died after his bike skidded near a food street in Hussainabad area. A number of locals took to the street after the incident and protested against what they called “negligence" of the authorities.
Later, the police issued another statement, saying that the man “died due to electric shock”.
Station House Officer at the Azizabad Police Station, Farrukh Hashmi, talking to Dawn.com, claimed that the man had slipped from his motorbike before he came into contact with a live wire.
He pointed out that the district municipal corporation and the local community had installed an electric pole in the area for the purpose of street lights, and insisted it was not erected by the K-Electric — the company responsible for power supply to Karachi.
He replied in the negative when asked if the case of the incident would be registered.