Torrential rains lashed Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, killing at least 16 people, Dawn reported on Thursday. The Pakistani Army has been asked to help with relief and rescue operations in the city. Water extraction pumps have been provided to the Karachi administration.
Daily life was disrupted in Karachi as several areas, including North Karachi, Nazimabad, Drigh Road, were inundated after heavy rainfall. Schools in Karachi have been ordered to remain shut for the next three days as a precaution.
Electricity supply was also suspended in many areas of the city, but most of the deaths in Karachi were caused by electrocution. An eight-year-old boy was killed in a building collapse in the city’s Clifton area of the city. Two others were reported dead in the districts of Jamshoro and Kashmore in Sindh province.
Pakistan’s Meteorological Department predicted three more days of rain in parts of Sindh, Islamabad and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, AP reported. Windstorms are also expected in Baluchistan and Punjab provinces.
According to K-Electric, Pakistan’s largest power utility, 80 out of 1,600 feeders had been affected in the rain. “Some feeders have been switched off in view of safety concerns in areas with water logging, and restoration work will be expedited in affected areas as soon as standing water is wiped out,” KE’s Director of Marketing and Communication Sadia Dada told Dawn.
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