RAWALPINDI: Najam Hussain had to spend the whole Thursday night draining out rainwater from his house in a low-lying locality of the city.

The 39-year-old, who works in a private firm in Islamabad and lives in Dhoke Khabba, said the rainwater started entering his house at midnight.

He said the water level increased to about five feet in the house and he had to shift his family to the upper floor where they could not sleep in fear of any untoward situation.

Know more: Water flow in Rawalpindi's Nullah Lea crosses red line

“Iesco also disconnected the electricity supply to the area and we had to drain out the water using an emergency light,” he said.

Like Najam, Mohammad Rashid Malik, a resident of Arya Mohallah, said three-foot deep water accumulated on the nearby road and choked the drains of his house. “It took five hours to drain out the water from the house.”

He said the whole night they spent reciting verses from the holy Quran to seek the help of Almighty Allah. “We have lived in the area for the last 25 years and every year we face a similar situation during the monsoon but the government never cleared the drains and Leh Nullah.”

Houses, bridges and shops also damaged in many areas

Naveed Butt, a resident of Mohanpura, said their locality was 10 feet above the bed of Leh Nullah but the choked drains and raised water level in the nullah created problems for them.

There are many localities in the garrison city which have been inundated by the rainwater. People had a tough time in draining out the water from their houses as many parts of the city.

He said Bazaar Kallan, Dingi Khoi, Raja Bazaar, Akalgarh, Nadeem Colony, Javed Colony, Dhoke Ratta, Ganjmandi, Jamia Masjid Road, Bani Chowk, Sadiqabad, Satellite Town, Commercial Market, College Road, Bohar Bazaar, Naya Mohallah, Raja Bazaar, Mohanpura, Nanakpura, Arjan Nagar and Amarpura were submerged in rainwater.

Traders at Bohar Bazaar and Moti Bazaar were also seen draining out the rainwater from their shops. “The rainwater also damaged a number of shops. We have already been suffering due to the slump in business these days and the rain has added to our problems,” said Sharjeel Mir, the president of the traders association.

The rain also affected the operation of the railway traffic. After 18 hours, the rail traffic was restored between Rawalpindi and Lahore and other parts of the country.

Landsliding at Domaili and Dina near Jhelum had affected the rail traffic on Thursday.

When contacted, Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent Rawalpindi Munawar Khan said there was landsliding at many areas and the clearance of the mud took some hours to restore the traffic.

The rainwater also inundated Benazir Bhutto International Airport due to the choked nullah from Chirah Road, causing delay to some flights.

The Meteorological Department recorded 212 millimetres (mm) of rainfall in Islamabad and 255mm in Rawalpindi and forecast overcast and isolated rain in the twin cities in the next 24 hours.

According to a press release issued by DCO Sajid Zafar Dall, 93 houses were damaged during the torrential rains in the city.

Two bridges, one in tehsil Kallar Syedan and the other in Kotli Sattian, were also damaged. A bridge on Rawalpindi-Kotli Sattian road at Chaint was also damaged. The rehabilitation work on the bridge was in progress which could be completed in about 72 hours.

The district administration has directed the commuters to use the Bun route while travelling from Rawalpindi to Kotli Sattian.

Most of the damages to the infrastructure were reported from localities situated on both sides of river Soan. The highest level of the water during the last 24 hours was recorded 18.44 ft in Nullah Leh which flows from Islamabad to river Soan.

Meanwhile, rescue teams of the city district government and the health, livestock and other departments have established their relief camps in areas affected by the heavy rains.

Published in Dawn, September 6th , 2014