Heavy rains hit parts of Pakistan for a fifth straight night, bringing more flooding to the nation’s financial capital Karachi and towns and villages and leaving at least 63 people dead, Pakistani officials said on Friday, while rescuers evacuated people from flooded neighborhoods.
About 75cm of rain have fallen in Karachi since Sunday last week, when monsoon rains began lashing the city in the southern Sindh province, forcing the municipal authorities to use boats to evacuate people trapped in flooded streets.
Forty-seven people were killed in the city of 15 million people in rain-related incidents, said provincial Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Authorities are working day and night to help rain-affected people in the city and elsewhere in the province, he added.
At least 16 people were killed in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to overnight flash flooding, provincial Disaster Management Authority spokesman Taimur Ali said.
As downed power lines caused widespread electrical outages in Karachi, some workers stayed at their offices and others spent the night in open areas because there was no transportation to get home.
Hundreds of vehicles were dragged along city streets by powerful flood waters.
Pakistan’s military said it provided food to at least 10,000 people, and dozens of relief camps were set up for residents. Troops also repaired embankments of a swollen canal by which floodwaters entered the city.
Eight of those killed in Karachi died when a wall fell on them in a residential area.
More than 150 people have died in various parts of Pakistan since June in rain-related incidents and many residents were angry with authorities for not helping them.
The monsoon rains are hitting Pakistan at a time when authorities are trying to contain the spread of COVID-19, which has caused more than 6,283 deaths since February.
Pakistan on Friday reported nine more deaths from the virus.
Every year, many cities in Pakistan struggle to cope with the annual monsoon deluge, which usually lasts until September, drawing widespread criticism about poor urban planning.
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