SUKKUR/DADU/MIRPUR-KHAS: Upper Sindh districts — Sukkur, Khairpur and Kandkot-Kashmore — received several light, moderate and heavy spells of rains while Ghotki, Jacobabad and Shikarpur districts were lashed by light rain on Friday afternoon.

Dadu, Jamshoro, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Naushahro Feroze, Tharparkar, Umerkot and some other districts also received more rains for a fifth consecutive day.

Most cities, towns and villages in the rain-hit region remained without electricity as the power utilities concerned shut down feeders to avoid electrocution during heavy falls but there were also widespread complaints of local breakdowns and tripping of feeders. Almost all upper Sindh districts experienced several hours of power outages.

The downpour caused flooding in urban and rural areas alike. Business, trade and commercial activities remained suspended during and after the rains as people preferred to stay indoors in view of the forecast of heavy rains for Friday.

The flooding situation worsened in the evening as municipal workers failed to drain rainwater from roads and streets due choked gutters and nullahs. Water and sewage pumping machines could not be operated for want of electricity.

A 50-foot-wide breach occurred in the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) drain near Tando Jan Mohammad town on Friday, triggering flooding in the adjacent areas early in the morning.

Bridge collapses

A makeshift bridge erected above Hakro Dhoro (waterway) to serve as Kunri-Umerkot road collapsed amid downpour and resultant heightened water level on Friday. The collapse disconnected the land route for dozens of villages in Kunri and Umerkot.

Casualties

Apart from the death of one woman in rain-related incident in Karachi, eight other people lost their lives during and after rains in Dadu, Jamshoro and Mirpurkhas districts.

A man, Deen Mohammad, died and his four children were injured when the roof of a house collapsed during a heavy spell of rain in the Khanpur locality of Kotri town. The injured aged between four and 17 years. In a similar incident within Kotri town, seven-year-old Hayat Baby was killed and two other persons were injured.

Two youths, Ghulam Nabi, 15, and Shafqat Hussain, 17, drowned in a water reservoir in the LUMHS Colony in Jamshoro. They were playing near the water body during rainfall when one of them slipped into the reservoir and the other jumped into it to rescue him. However, both of them drowned.

A 16-year-old youth, Azhar Lakho, drowned in the Aral Wah (canal) in Sehwan during rain.

A woman, identified as Ms Fahmida, drowned in a rainwater pool in Talhi village of Kunri taluka in Umerkot district.

In separate incidents of electrocution, Jaffer Leghari, 15, and Hasnain Lashari, 18, died in Kotri.

Two labourers, Roshan Lashari and Badal Lashari, were swept away by strong currents falling into Gaaj dam in Dadu district. Local residents managed to rescue Badal Lashari, but Roshan Lashari remained unaccounted for.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2024