By Syed Raza Hassan
KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Torrential rains caused widespread flooding and damage in Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi on Monday, even inundating the business district, officials said.
Most underpasses were flooded and there was nowhere to pump the flood waters out to, the chief minister for Sindh province, Murad Ali Shah told reporters.
He said an unprecedented 126mm rain had fallen in three hours.
One death had been confirmed in the latest spell of Monsoon rains, adding to the 29 reported since they began last month.
The streets of posh areas such as the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) complex and Clifton were flooded, with water gushing into houses.
Karachi’s main streets, which house financial institutions and bank headquarters including Pakistan’s central bank, were flooded and rescue services were using boats to reach stranded people.
The Pakistan Navy was also taking part in the relief and rescue operations, the Navy said in a statement.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic losses due to torrential rains in Karachi,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Twitter. He offered every possible support for the Karachi administration.
The highway linking Quetta city to Karachi was also closed for traffic as sections of it were swept away by flash floods.
In southwest Balochistan province, about a dozen villages in Lasbela district were submerged as the Winder River overflowed and water flooded into houses.
The Navy and local officials had rescued about 500 people nd local administration from the affected villages so far, government official Farhan Suleman Ranjho told Reuters.
Last week 64 deaths occurred in different parts of Balochistan province as eight dams burst due to flood waters.
The metrological office has forecast more rains in coming days.
(Additional reporting by Gul Yousafzai in Quetta, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
