KARACHI: While three people died from electrocution, many parts of the metropolis received light to moderate showers that broke the ongoing hot spell and brought some respite for Karachiites on Monday.

After a gap of around three weeks, the city, under the ongoing monsoon season, received rain that caused inundation of roads, power outages as well as hours-long traffic jams in different areas.

Though the rain hit almost every city area, neighbourhoods in districts South and East witnessed the heaviest rain count of the day.

The Met office recorded maximum rainfall in old Airport area i.e. 32.2 millimetre, or 1.26 inches, followed by University Road (28.3mm), PAF Masroor Base (24mm), PAF Faisal Base (25mm), Gulshan-i-Hadeed (23mm), Quaidabad (17.5mm), Jinnah Terminal (13.2mm), Keamari (11.5mm), Surjani Town (10.6mm), Saadi Town (10.4mm), DHA Phase II (8.7mm), Nazimabad (3.2mm) and Korangi (3.4mm).

It all started in the second half of the day when dark clouds enveloped the city under the influence of a low-pressure area that persisted over the Indian Gujarat causing depression in the Arabian Sea.

The rain started after 1pm on the city’s outskirts before the clouds moved to the main city areas.

The fresh spell that continued for more than an hour with frequent breaks left several low-lying areas and main roads inundated.

In several areas, residents complained that power supply got disrupted with the first drop of rain and took hours to restore.

District South witnessed severe traffic jams as motorists stuck for hours on I. I. Chundrigarh Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, M. R. Kayani Road, Rafiqi Shaheed Road, Sarwar Shaheed Road, Court Road, M. A. Jinnah Road, Fatima Jinnah Road, Old Outram Road, Hasrat Mohani Road, Wood Street, Shahrah-i-Kamal Ataturk, Burns Road, Belassis Street, Shahrah-i-Liaquat, Nicol Road and connecting arteries.

Electrocution

Thirty-year-old Sohail died from electrocution in Baldia Town on Monday evening.

An Edhi Foundation spokesperson said that Hammad Rafiq, 18, died after he suffered an electric shock near Pakora Chowk in Baldia Town. The body was shifted to the nearby Murshid hospital for medico-legal formalities.

In another incident, a 27-year-old man suffered an electric shock in Saudabad and died.

Police said Muneer Shafi was electrocuted near the Kala Board area. The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities.

In a statement issued on Monday, a K-Electric spokesperson while expressing grief over reports of two electrocutions said, “As per initial investigations, the electrocution incident in Baldia Town occurred inside a shop, while the incident in Malir Kala Board took place due to a streetlight pole. No K-Electric infrastructure was involved in the cases.”

About complaints of power failures, the spokesperson said that during the downpour, the “maximum number of feeders powered down for safety reasons was not more than 200” and that the power utility ensured sustained supply to the city during rain.

Rain expected today

The Met office on Monday made a fresh forecast predicting hot and humid weather conditions in the city on Tuesday (today) with chances of dust-thunderstorm and rain at a few places in the afternoon.

According to an advisory, a low-pressure area over the Indian Gujarat persists while a depression over east India has moved towards central India.

“Under their influence of this system, dust-thunderstorm/rain with isolated moderate/ heavy falls is likely to occur at a few places in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Badin, Sanghar, Khairpur and Mirpurkhas districts till Thursday with occasional gaps, while in Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Jamshoro, Tando Muhammad Khan, Sujawal and Thatta districts till Wednesday,” it said.

The maximum temperature is likely to range between 36 degrees Celsius and 38 degrees Celsius in Karachi on Tuesday (today).

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2022