Heavy rain and strong winds lashed upper parts of Punjab including Lahore, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Kashmir, early Wednesday morning claiming several lives, disrupting routine life and electricity supply, and the Met Office forecast more rains, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

At least 10 people were killed, seven in Lahore and three in KP, in rain-related incidents 

Talking to newsmen while visiting different areas of Lahore, Punjab Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi confirmed that seven people died in rain-related incidents in the city. “Three died due to electrocution, two in roof collapse and a little girl drowned in rainwater,” he added.

He further said their top mission is the water draining before the next rain spell hit the city.

Three people died while eight others were injured following torrential rains and gales in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Two persons died in Shangla while a woman in Karak. According to reports, seven houses were also damaged due to heavy rains.

KP Secretary Relief Abdul Basit told media that those injured had been shifted to hospitals, while in view of more monsoon rains forecast for the province, Rescue1122, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and Civil Defence staff had been put on high alert. 

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He further said that Rescue1122, district administrations and other concerned departments were busy in carrying out relief and rescue activities.

The heavy downpour considerably brought down the temperature and rid the people of mugginess, but turned low-lying areas of plains into pools of water.

The continuous heavy rain also inundated the low-lying areas in different cities, causing traffic disruption.

Data shared by Met Office showed several parts of Lahore received up to 179mm of rain. According to Met Department stats, the highest rain was recorded at the Nishtar Town Director Office (118mm), Jail Road (56.5mm), at Airport 52mm, Head Office WASA, Gulberg 63mm, Gulshan-e-Ravi 79mm, Iqbal Town 69mm, Tajpura 79mm, Johar Town 82mm, Mughalpura 88mm, Chowk Nakhuda 54mm, Samanabad 54mm and Upper Mall 88mm.

Following the rain, power supply to different parts of Lahore was disrupted as 200 feeders of the LESCO tripped.

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According to a spokesman for LESCO, the field staff had been put on high alert. He further said that the staff was facing difficulties in the restoration of power supply due to heavy rain.

However, he assured work on restoration of the power supply would start as soon as the rain stopped.

There were reports of downpour from other parts of Punjab as well, including Gujrat, Narowal, Gujranwala,  Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhelum, Phalia, Sharaqpur, Nankana Sahib and Sheikhupura.

Locals faced great inconvenience as persistent rain turned the entire city of Narowal into a pool of water. Several parts of the city were submerged under two to three feet of water. 

The Met Office, on the other hand, predicted that the present spell of rain would continue until July 8. “Heavy rain will inundate low-lying areas,” it said, adding, “There are fears of landslide in the mountainous areas.”

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) warned of urban flooding.

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According to Pakistan Meteorological Department, rain-wind/thundershower is expected in Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Pothohar region, upper/central Punjab and northeast Balochistan. Isolated heavy falls are also expected in upper Punjab, Islamabad, Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the next 24 hours.

 

Reporters: Komal Aslam, Fareeha Batool, Shahid Sipra, Amir Shahzad, Bassam Sultan and Yasir Arafat