RAWALPINDI: Low lying areas in the twin cities were inundated by water accumulated as a result of heavy rain on Thursday.

According to the Met Office, more rain is expected from July 22 to July 23 and may cause urban flooding. The rain started on Wednesday night and continued till Thursday afternoon varying from moderate to heavy. Water level in Leh Nullah increased as well.

The Meteorological Department recorded 93 millimetres of rain in Katcheri Chowk and surroundings, 38mm at Chaklala and 28mm at Shamsabad in Rawalpindi while 53mmat Airport, 19mm at Saidpur, 39mm at Bokra, 26mm at Zero Point and 16mm at Golra in Islamabad.

According to a Met official, strong monsoon currents are penetrating central and southern parts of the country. He said more rain-wind/thundershower is expected in Kashmir, Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, upper Sindh and eastern Balochistan. Isolated heavy falls are likely in South Punjab.

Electricity in many areas remained suspended for hours. “The workers worked after the rain stopped as in most areas, transformers developed fault,” said a senior official of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco). The water level in Soan River increased during the rain; people residing along the river’s bank were reported to have spent the entire night awake fearing that water could enter their homes.

When contacted, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Managing Director Mohammad Tanveer said that water accumulated in some areas but we managed to clear it in afternoon, adding machinery was already kept in low lying areas to drain out water in case of heavyrains in the coming days. He said that water accumulated in Committee Chowk Underpass, Liaquat Bagh, Javed colony, Sadiqabad, Satellite Town, Jamia Masjid Road and Murree Road but teams of Wasa drained it out on time.

He said that due to dredging of Leh Nullah, the water level did not increase to a dangerous level.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2022