Pakistan Flood News - 2024

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Another rain spell may hit Karachi, other Sindh cities from tomorrow​

The Newspaper
September 2, 2024

A flood-affected family rests in a makeshift shelter following heavy monsoon rains on the outskirts of Larkana, Sindh on Aug 31, 2024. — AFP

KARACHI: Another weather system is developing over the Bay of Bengal and Karachi and many Sindh cities are likely to receive another spell of rain, the Met Office said on Sunday.

It said that rain-wind/thundershowers was expected from Tuesday (tomorrow) till Wednesday.

“The system located over eastern India right now doesn’t look intense and may bring about light to moderate rain in Karachi on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Chief Meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz said.

He added that a clear picture would emerge when the low pressure area reach Rajasthan.

According the department’s advisory, rain-wind thundershowers are also expected in Sukkur, Larkana, Khairpur, Dadu, Jacobabad, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Umarkot and Sanghar from Sept 3 to Sept 4 with occasional gaps.

It warned that heavy downpour/windstorm or lightning could damage weak infrastructure.

For Karachi, the department has forecast mostly sunny/partly cloudy weather with chances of drizzle at night or morning in the city on Monday (today).

The maximum temperature is likely to stay between 31 and 33 degrees Celsius.

On Sunday, the maximum temperature was 32.6 degrees Celsius with 78 per cent relative humidity.

It may be noted that Karachi had received over 200mm of rainfall during the five-day spell that began from August 27. Surjani Town had received maximum rain (226mm), followed by Gulshan-i-Hadeed (175mm), Quaidabad (161mm), Nazimabad (122mm), Keamari (105.3mm), Korangi (100.5mm) and North Karachi (100.2mm).

 

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5 dead in Balochistan, 4 in KP as rains continue to wreak havoc countrywide​

Imtiaz Ali | Abdullah Zehri | Umar Bacha
September 3, 2024

People gather near flashfloods in Balochistan on Sept 2. — Photo via Abdullah Zehri
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaMc238IiRov8okfYy3n
Five children died across Balochistan while four people lost their lives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past day as monsoon rains continued to wreak havoc countrywide, officials said on Tuesday.

Deaths mount countrywide as various areas continue to receive monsoon showers along with the remnants of cyclonic storm Asna that brought with it heavy rains for Sindh and Balochistan.

Since July 1, a total of 39 people have died in Balochistan in rain-related incidents, Younus Mengal, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority’s control room, (PDMA) told Dawn.com.

The deceased include 19 children, five of whom died in three separate incidents on Monday, Mengal said.

The PDMA official said a new spell of rain entered Balochistan a day ago and was expected to continue till tonight in 22 districts. Relief and rescue efforts were under way in the province, he added.

Detailing the deadly incidents, Mengal said a pair of brothers drowned in flashfloods in Zhob District, and their bodies were recovered by the district administration and the PDMA.

In Khuzdar District’s Tootak area, three children were “immediately rescued” by Levies officials after they fell into a dam but were taken to a hospital, where two of them passed away, the official said. A fifth minor, Mengal added, drowned in a flash flood passing by the Kech River in Kech District.

The PDMA official confirmed that 11 Balochistan districts have been declared calamity-hit as of yet, where the authority’s aid efforts were under way.

Mengal further said that in view of alerts by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), holidays of PDMA and other government employees had been suspended.

According to a PDMA report issued on Monday, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, 17 people have been injured in rain-related incidents across Balochistan from July 1 to September 1.

Some 895 houses have been completely damaged while more than 14,000 have been partially damaged during the period, with Khuzdar and Jaffarabad being the most affected.

Over 111,400 people province-wide have been affected by the rains as seven bridges, 74 kilometres of roads and seven medical health units have been left damaged.

On the agricultural side, 58,830 acres of crop have been affected while 373 livestock have perished so far.