ISLAMABAD: On Sunday, residents of the country faced another round of “abnormal” monsoon rains that left six people dead, including three in Karachi, caused urban flooding in major cities, flash floods in mountainous areas, and threatened numerous villages with flooding.
The Sindh chief minister ordered a holiday in Karachi and Hyderabad divisions on Monday (today) in order to “meet the emergency-like scenario” caused by extreme rainfall in the province, particularly in the provincial capital, in an effort to lessen the effects of the downpour.
Three people died from electrocution and urban flooding spread over Karachi during a record downpour that reached up to 142 millimetres, leaving the city still suffering from the last spell that had rendered living in the area impossible.
A torrential rainstorm that caused flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa resulted in the deaths of two people and the injury of ten others (one each in Dera Ismail Khan and Lower Dir), while a kid was murdered in Lahore in a rain-related event.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to support the provincial governments and the relevant departments after residents from outlying areas criticised the indifference of government officials, according to a press release from the PM’s Office media wing.
To “supervise the relief and rescue activities launched by the relevant departments,” the prime minister urged the elected officials.
