HYDERABAD: A 90-minute rainfall caused massive flooding and crippled life in this second largest city of Sindh on Monday evening, fully exp­o­sing the district administration’s and civic agencies’ claims about their preparedness for monsoon.

A dust storm preceded the rain and swept through Hyderabad, Latif­abad and Qasimabad talukas with a speed of 42 nautical miles per hour.

According to the local Met office, Hyderabad received 94mm and Latifabad 56mm of rainfall but the situation of flooding remained equally bad in both the talukas as all main roads were inundated and a massive power breakdown hit the entire district making the matter worse for the Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporation (HW&SC).

The rainfall started at about 4:20pm and con­t­i­nued till 6pm with moderate to heavy speed.

Widespread flooding, power breakdown cripple life

People were seen wading through knee-deep water on roads and in streets. Officials of civic agencies and district administration seemed helpless while struggling to cope with the situation.

Flooding badly affected Liaquat Colony, Station Road, railway station area, Cloth Market, Gari Khata, Sakhi Pir, Phulelli, almost all units of Latifabad, Shidi Goth in Qasimabad, Qasim Nagar and the main Qasimabad road.

“Almost the entire city [Hyderabad] looks like Venice,” wrote PPP district information secretary Ehsan Abro on a social media platform while criticising performance of the city’s civic bodies.

“It’s a heavy spell of monsoon shower in Hyderabad but not a cloudburst,” said an official of Karachi’s Met office.

Accumulation of rainwater on roads led to prolonged traffic gridlocks on main thoroughfares, inclu­d­ing Hyderabad-Latifabad flyover, after the underpass connecting the city with Latifabad was completely inundated there and Makki Shah road was also flooded. Resultantly, commuters were forced to go for Latifabad flyover. Long queues of vehicles were seen at Makki Shah up to the Cantonment graveyard road.

Massive power outage

The city remained without power supply as Hesco infrastructure sustained heavy damage. According to a Hesco spokesman, four grid stations of 132kV transmission system were badly hit as the towers connected with them fell down during dust storm and rainfall. He said that out of 152 feeders, only 12 survived the storm and rainfall while the rest 140 tripped. “Now, 54 have been re-energised and the line staff was inspecting others to energise them,” he said at about 9:30pm.

Strong winds also pulled down a huge tree on Fatima Jinnah Road causing a power transmission line to fall on road.

Water supply affected

Major pumping stations of the HW&SC including Tulsi Das which are dependent on Hesco’s system remained without power supply. Reports said that generators were in working order but fuel supply remained an issue.

MQM lawmakers and local PPP leaders were visiting pumping stations to oversee the rehabilitation work but they could not do anything to cope with the situation.

Hyderabad Mayor Kas­hif Shoro blamed power failure for the problems in draining of rainwater. He said that Hesco could re-energise only 30pc of the city’s sewerage facilities. “I hope the entire rainwater will be drained out by tonight,” he said.

He noted that power supply to some pumping stations was restored but it was suspended due to re-emerging faults forcing Hesco to effect a shutdown for repairs. He said that Tulsi Das, Aga Khan, Poly and LD1 pumping stations were the major facilities that dealt with drainage of rainwater.

Murad orders accelerated draining of water

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah monitored the situation in Hyderabad on Monday after heavy rainfall in several areas of the city, a press release said.

It added that the CM contacted the mayor of Hyderabad for a briefing on drainage efforts and instructed that steps be taken to accelerate water removal.

Power outages caused by Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) feeder trips had resulted in the temporary shutdown of pumping stations, which affected drainage operations. Therefore, chief minister asked Energy Minister Nasir Shah to coordinate with Hesco to restore electricity to the stations as soon as possible.

The CM highlighted the need to clear all major roads to reduce inconvenience to the public and called on district administrations, municipal bodies, the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, traffic police and rescue services to coordinate their efforts and urged departments to remain vigilant.

Precautionary measures were also advised, such as keeping dewatering pumps and personnel on standby in low-lying areas, placing warning signs near electrical hazards, maintaining round-the-clock control rooms and sharing timely updates through media outlets.

The CM also requested citizens to avoid unnecessary travel during the rain and to cooperate with the authorities to help reduce risks.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2025