80 dead — 47 in Karachi after Sindh downpour

Ag Agencies

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: In the aftermath of the record-busting monsoon rains that battered Sindh on Thursday, nearly 50 people are dead in Karachi alone, mobile phone networks have been gutted, the power utility provider scrambled to restore electricity over 24 hours later and many roads were still awash with rainwater.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah in a sombre press conference on Friday announced that the death toll across the province due to rains was a whopping 80 – 47 of which were from Karachi. He also defended his under-fire government’s response to the rains, which broke 90-year-old records. Shah also said appointing an administrator for Karachi is the sole authority of Sindh’s cabinet.

A record 230mm of rain was recorded in Karachi, compared to the average of 130mm for the time of year, the city’s meteorological service chief Sarfraz Ahmed said. The city’s woes have become a political hot rod which has drawn criticism from the Centre, which has called for a strong local government system in the city and has hinted at a constitutional intervention to “save” the city.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said a “comprehensive plan” was in the making to address the major civic issues confronting Karachi, including sewerage, sanitation and clean drinking water. Khan said directives had been issued to all federal departments to provide immediate relief to the people of Karachi. Chairing a meeting here to review progress on development projects of the city, he said the government was cognisant of the problems of the people of Sindh, particularly of Karachi and would play an effective role in mitigating their sufferings.

The meeting was attended by federal ministers Asad Umar and Murad Saeed and senior government officials. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail joined from Karachi through video-link and briefed the Prime Minister over the rescue and relief measures in the wake of unprecedented rain in the province.

The Prime Minister said a comprehensive plan, aimed at resolving civic issues of the big cities, was being devised in consultation with all stakeholders. Khan said in his telephonic talk with Chief Minister Shah, he assured Shah that the federal government would extend every possible assistance to the province in overcoming the challenges.

The Prime Minister said Karachi was one of the most important cities of the country and vowed to use all resources to address its lingering issues.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army’s relief and rescue efforts were ongoing in Karachi. In a statement, the ISPR said all areas of Karachi severely affected due to heavy rains disrupting civic life. “Thirty-two medical camps established with civil administration in various areas including three army mobile hospitals at Sarjani Town, Qayyumabad and Saadi Town.

Fifty-six relief camps have been established in coordination with civil administration to help stranded people. Dewatering was carried out at nine locations. Pakistan Army troops were busy in shifting people to safer places. Cooked meal being provided to affected people in various areas struck due to heavy rains

Rescue teams of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh), shifted around 150 families in the flooded Surjani town area to safer places.

Heavy rains also lashed the rest of the province particularly Hyderabad, Dadu and Badin, and the uncharacteristically heavy monsoon rains pounded the rest of Pakistan. The military has also set up relief camps in those locations.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16 people were killed in flash floods on Friday, with landslides damaging 67 houses, said provincial disaster management authority Taimur Ali.

In Punjab, local officials said four workers were killed when a warehouse roof collapsed on Friday. An old bridge over the Naullah Palkhu washed away near Bharath-Sialkot road due to high flooding cutting off the surround area from Sialkot.

In total, floods killed 103 people in August in Pakistan, including 54 in Karachi, 33 in Punjab and 16 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to official figures compiled by AFP.

Meanwhile, the Tarbela Dam reservoir reached its maximum storage capacity of 1,550 feet and the power production of the dam also reached its installed capacity of 4,934 megawatts. The dam administration opened one spillway and the rest of the water was discharged through the 17 power generation units of the dam.