Monsoon rains bring Karachi to a standstill after the city received heavy rainfall on Thursday morning, turning streets into rivers and people waded through waist-deep waters.
Heavy Rainfall lashes several areas of Karachi
The city received about 4 inches (97 millimeters) of rain in North Karachi area and it’s already hamstrung infrastructure collapsed. Public transport stopped and thousands of commuters were stranded in their houses taking off from work.
School and Colleges shut down
According to the Meteorological Department, more heavy rain was expected for another day and the local government asked all schools and colleges to shut down a day before than scheduled holidays for Eid-ul-Azha.
Chaos everywhere
Public transport shut down, buses, rickshaws, and motorcycles were half-submerged under water.
Downpour wreaked havoc on the power supply system and municipal infrastructure as electrocution and falling billboard incidents left at least 13 people dead in different areas of the metropolis.
At 97 mm, North Karachi and surrounding areas of the city witnessed the maximum rainfall within a 12-hour period. According to Director Meteorological Department, rain in Nazimabad was 67 mm, University Road 27 mm, Masroor Base 42 mm, Saddar 40 mm, Landhi 20 mm, Gulshan Hadeed 16 mm, while it was recorded 29 mm at Faisal Base of the city.
A new monsoon system has entered in Sindh from India that will generate a wet spell with thunderstorm and heavy rainfall, Director Meteorological Department Abdul Rasheed said.
The wet spell in southern parts of Sindh including Mirpur Khas, Hyderabad and Karachi divisions will persist today, till Friday (tomorrow). The weather system will weaken on Friday night.
The cloudy weather however will continue on Eidul Azha, which falls on Saturday.