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Lahore submerged as rain breaks 44-year record
• Four dead, over 400 feeders trip as deluge inundates hospitals, roads and homes
• Two killed in Chitral and Abbottabad as downpour triggers flash floods in KP; relief efforts continue in areas devastated by Glof event
• Met official predicts above-normal rainfall until Aug 15 in two spells
LAHORE / PESHAWAR: As a rare spell of torrential monsoon rain inundated Lahore, breaking a 44-year record in just three hours, six people across the country lost their lives in rain-related incidents on Thursday, while almost a dozen received injuries.
The record-breaking rain in Lahore fell on the first day of a six-day spell of torrential monsoon rains, which is likely to last till Aug 6 with occasional gaps, with the Pakistan Meteorological Department saying that the first two weeks of August would receive above-normal rainfall.
The rain that started before 5am and lashed the city for at least three hours before losing its intensity, submerged roads, hospitals and homes across the provincial capital, with sanitation staff trying to drain the water as soon as the downpour subsided. However, the city remained paralysed until mid-afternoon as residents struggled to remove rainwater from their homes.
In Mughalpura, Tajpura and Garhi Shahu, residents spent their time on the streets trying to unclog sewers, which had been blocked, probably due to garbage accumulation. Across the city, several cars and motorcycles were also seen stuck in different areas after they broke down due to rain.
The downpour also affected hospitals as rainwater entered the emergency department and other wards of the Services Hospital, General Hospital, and Mayo Hospital, destroying medicine and equipment stored in the hospital. The parking lot of the General Hospital was also inundated.
The situation was further compounded due to power outages as 410 feeders of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) tripped due to the downpour. In some areas of the city, power had not been restored till 8pm when this report was filed.
Similarly, six flights between Lahore and Karachi faced delays due to rain as the Civil Aviation Authority staff remained busy clearing the runway and surrounding areas.
Lives lost
In Lahore, four people were killed and seven were injured due to rain.
A minor and five others were trapped when the roof of their dilapidated house collapsed near Baba Bulleh Shah Interchange. As a result, the child succumbed to injuries. In multiple incidents of electrocution, three people were killed across the city. Another roof collapsed near Shaukat Khanum Chowk wounded two people. One was given first aid on the spot while the other was sent to the hospital.
According to a report by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, 45 people have died and 132 injured due to rains in Punjab from June 30 to August 1. During this period, 66 houses were also damaged and 39 head of cattle were killed.
Record rain
The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) reported that the highest rainfall of 365mm was in the airport area while in Pani Wala Talab it was measured at 324mm. Nishtar Town received 312 mm, Farrukhabad 298mm, Johar Town 280mm, Chowk Nakhuda 262mm, Iqbal Town 262mm, Tajpura 260mm, Samanabad 250mm, Gulshan Ravi 248mm, Lakshmi Chowk 248mm, Mughalpura 227mm, Qartaba Chowk 225mm, Upper Mall 218mm, and Head Office Gulberg 214mm.
The Punjab government claimed that it monitored rain and flooding through Safe City cameras and cleared the water in record time.
Wasa claimed to have cleared different areas, including Nabha Road, GPO, Shah Jamal, Lytton Road, Ek Moria Pul, Allah Hu Chowk, Johar Town, Qartaba Chowk, Tikka Chowk, and Lakshmi Chowk.
Two killed in KP
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two people were killed in Upper Chitral and Abbottabad districts. In Upper Yarkhun area of Upper Chitral, a flash flood triggered by rainfall washed away a farmer grazing goats in a pasture in the morning.
The villagers said that other farmers accompanying him barely escaped the flood. A number of goats from the herd perished in the flood.
In Abbottabad, a girl lost her life due to after she was swept away in rainwater in Bilal Town. She was recovered by the rescue team but could not survive.
In Manshera, flash floods, widely perceived to have been triggered by the cloudburst on Thursday, washed away three shops and a mosque in the Mahandri area.
The same torrent also swept away materials brought in to construct a bridge washed away earlier this week. The swollen stream inundated Mahanadi bazaar and the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road.
In light of inclement weather, the Balokot tehsil administration decided to evacuate 3,000 visitors stranded in Naran.
“The administration has been fearing a tragedy due to the swollen Manor stream and asked the stranded families to leave the valley via Karakoram Highway,” Saqib Khan Lughmani told reporters by telephone from Naran.
Meanwhile, families affected by the recent flash floods in Manor Valley protested the delay in the rehabilitation of the central bridge that was washed away earlier this week.
“Tehsil administration and National Highway Authority have failed to erect even a temporary bridge to provide a passage to the hundreds of families in Manor Valley,” Mohammad Tariq, a local said.
He said a Chinese company working at a local hydropower project had come to install a makeshift bridge but the NHA officials and the tehsil administration didn’t allow them to do so.
Chitral relief efforts
Meanwhile, relief activities continued in Sorech village, which had been devastated by the glacial lake outburst flood a day earlier.
Upper Chitral DC Haseebur Rehman Khalil told Dawn on the phone from the affected village that the flood had rendered more than sixty families homeless.
He said the flooding also affected Reshun, Brep, Dizg, Khruzg, Khot, Rech and other villages.
The road between Upper Chitral and Lower Chitral remained closed for vehicular traffic as well as pedestrian movement at Reshun village for the third consecutive day where a segment of road had eroded into the river.
More rain to fall
Pakistan Meteorological Department Director General Mahr Sahibzad Khan, meanwhile, revealed that a high flood situation could occur in the Chenab River during this monsoon season if the rain continued at the same pace.
The Associated Press of Pakistan said that after the rain spell of Aug 1-6, there were chances of another rain spell from Aug 7 to 15, adding that the PMD would issue an advisory. “The first two weeks of August are expected to witness above-normal rains,” he said.
In July, Pakistan received 7pc less rainfall, he said, adding that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received 24pc less rain, Sindh 45pc less rain, Azad Jammu Kashmir 46pc less rainfall, and Gilgit-Baltistan 66pc rainfall.
On the other hand, Punjab received 12pc more rainfall and Balochistan received 23pc more deluge.
The significant rainfall recorded during the ongoing monsoon till now included 662mm in Lahore (airport) followed by 480mm in Sialkot (airport), 403mm in Rawalpindi (Chaklala), 332mm in Sialkot (city), 323mm in Gujrat, and 317mm in Mandi Bahauddin.
He disclosed that Lahore witnessed record-breaking rainfall of 360mm on August 01, breaking the 332.5mm rainfall recorded on July 31, 1980.
Rashid Javed in Abbotabad, Zahiruddin in Chitral and Nisar Ahmed Khan in Mansehra also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2024
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