The rare stormy weather panicked the public, who were unable to figure out severity of the winds and remained standstill wherever they found shelter. People on roads remained stranded in the weather, as strong blows and slant rainfall made their movements almost impossible.
The heavy rain wrecked havoc at the city's biggest animal market in Sohrab Goth as the gusty winds overthrew camps/shelters while the stagnant rain water created severe hardships for traders to feed and look after the sacrificial animals. The rain disturbed power supply system of K-Electric. The power utility took hours to restore power supply to consumers as various parts of the city plunged into darkness immediately after the winds started to uproot trees and blow away shanty roofs.
Scores of uprooted trees were still lying on roads and streets as the civic and Sindh government has yet to step up to clear passages for traffic movement. Heavy showers mainly affected power supply in Gulshan, Malir, North Karachi, Gadap, Federal B Area, Landhi, Nazimabad, Korangi, Sadder, Lyari etc. The affected feeders were re-energized hours after the rain.
However the power utility claimed that power supply was restored within a few hours whereas the strategic installations including key hospitals, Dhabeji pumping station, and airport remained unaffected throughout the rain spells. Police and rescue sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that a majority of deaths occured in the wake of electric wires falling off power transmission lines.
Meanwhile, the heavy rain prompted Karachi Development Authority (KDA) to restore its rain emergency centre at Civic Centre Karachi. The rescue sources said some five people were electrocuted to death and a child drowned in rain related incidents on Tuesday night. Two people whose identities were not ascertained immediately electrocuted in Korangi when they were trapped in a broken electricity wire on the road.
Their bodies were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and later to morgue for identification. In another case, Javed Waheed, 40, was electrocuted to death inside his home in New Karachi. Similarly Muhammad Waheed died of electrocution in Gulshan--e-Ghazi area of Baldia Town. On Monday night, a teenage boy identified as Rameez, lost his life in Rizvia Society, while a girl Basma died in Pak Colony.
Similarly Muhammad Haris and Mansoor were electrocuted to death in Garden East area of Soldier Bazaar. The bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for postmortem examination, while 18-year-old Maryam died of electric shock in North Karachi. The body of victim was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for postmortem examination.
In another fatal incident, two brothers were killed when the roof of their house collapsed in North Karachi, near Disco Morr. Hajra Bibi, 28, and an unidentified man died in similar incidents in Faqir Goth, on Superhighway, and Gulshan-e-Kaneez Fatima areas, respectively.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017