Karachi: At least nine people were killed and normal life disrupted as heavy rains lashed the southern Sindh province on Wednesday.
In Karachi, normal life was thrown out of gear due as flooded streets caused traffic jams and electricity outages.
Poor maintenance of drainage systems caused inundation of main roads and streets. Several vehicles broke down in the flooded streets.
Almost 60 per cent of the city was without power as more than 300 electric feeders of the K Electric, the private sector power utility provider, was shut down due to rain and floods. The power outages also affected the water supply facilities, including the main Dhabeji pumping station, creating a severe water shortage in city.
Rescue teams reported that at least four people died in Karachi in rain related accidents. In Azizabad and the New Karachi areas a 40-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy died of electrocution. At Anda Mor neighbourhood two more people lost their lives because of electrocution.
The media reports also claimed that in Tharparkar district at least five people, including two women, died as lightning struck their huts.
An official statement said that Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had convened an emergency meeting to tackle the problems. He ordered to release Rs476 million for de-silting of as many as 30 main open drainage ducts in the city which were blocked by dumping rubbish and solid waste of the city.
The meeting further ordered the municipal staff to not avail the Eid holidays and keep working in those days to ensure the cleaning of the drainage.
Jam Khan Shoro, the local government minister, told the meeting that as the rain began, the KE system tripped and that caused heavy damages to the motors at the water pumping stations at Dhabeji and Pipri
The chief minister expressed his concern over the vulnerability of the KE electric system, saying that the outages happened despite the KE officials apprising him of a system upgrade recently.
More rains were expected in Karachi and other parts of the province in coming days, the Meteorological office forecast, saying the rains could induce more flooding in urban areas.
