LAHORE: The mix of a westerly wave and further strengthening monsoon current from the Bay of Bengal on Sunday began causing rain, heavy at places like Hyderabad and Kotli, and the meteorological department said it was going to generate high to very high flood in the Jhelum and Chenab rivers in the next 24 hours.

The department’s Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) in Lahore said heavy rains might also generate flash flooding in the streams of Ravi and Chenab along with hill torrents in Dera Ghazi Khan and Kohat divisions.

Sharp peaks of high to very high flood are expected in River Jhelum at Mangla (upstream), and high flood in Chenab at Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad.

The FFD said air temperature had risen by three to four degrees during the past few days in Gilgit-Baltistan and the expected rain in the next two to three days would enhance glacial melt.

As a result, there may be ‘glacial lake outburst floods’ in the vulnerable areas of Chitral and sub-basins of Gilgit-Baltistan such as Hunza, Nagar, Ghizer, Shigar, Shingo and Shyok.

The FFD said the Chenab at Marala was in medium flood and the Indus at Tarbela and Guddu in low flood.

Meanwhile, it again rained heavily in Hyderabad, adding to problems of the people.

However, the highest amount of rain was recorded in Kotli at 86 millimetres.

Karachi received just around 2mm of rain. However two people died owing to the downpour -- one of them was electrocuted while the other drowned in the reservoir of a small dam.

While civic agencies had drained out rainwater from most of the major roads, staffers were still busy pumping out accumulated water from the low lying areas. The rising water level in the Malir river, owing to rains in its catchment areas, forced the closure of a causeway and a low bridge connecting Korangi Crossing and the coastal village of Ibrahim Haidery with the city.

Sialkot received 58mm of rain, Islamabad (Zero Point 58, Golra 11, Bokra and Saidpur 3mm), Hyderabad 52mm, Mirpurkhas 40mm, Balakot 34mm, Muzaffarabad and Kohat 33mm, Rawalpindi (Shamasabad 32 and Chaklala 4mm), Murree 31mm Garhi Dupatta 25mm, Gujranwala and Shaheed Benazirabad 18mm, Gujrat 15mm, Chhor 14mm and Mangla 12mm.

Rain was also reported in Lahore, Peshawar, Rawlakot, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhang, Parachinar and Kakul.

The department said the fresh trough of westerly atmospheric wave persisted over northern parts of the country, and the moderate moist current from the Bay of Bengal, penetrating upper parts of the country up to 5,000ft, was likely to intensify in the next 24 hours.

As a result, scattered thunderstorm and rain, with isolated heavy falls and one or two very heavy falls, are expected in the upper catchment areas of the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers in the next 24 hours. Scattered thunderstorm and rain are expected in the upper catchments of the Indus.

Rain and thunderstorm with isolated heavy falls are expected at scattered places in Islamabad, upper Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, lower Sindh, east Balochistan and Kashmir and at isolated places in upper Sindh, south Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Heavy rainfall may generate flash flooding and landslides in the vulnerable areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2016