Lahore receives heavy showers as Met Office warns of urban, flash floods

Lahore continued to receive heavy rainfall on Saturday while the Met Office warned of urban and flashed flooding in Punjab’s provincial capital.

According to rainfall figures shared by Lahore’s Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) late in the morning, maximum rainfall in the city on the day was recorded in Gulshan-i-Ravi’s at 155mm, followed by 146mm in Pani Wala Talab, 109mm in Qurtaba Chowk, 104mm in Nishtar Town Director’s Office, 101mm in Lakshmi Chowk, 96mm in Johar Town SDO office, 80mm in Tajpura SDO office, 52mm in Iqbal Town SDO office, 44mm in Samanabad SDO office, 40mm in Upper Mall and Mughalpura SDO office, 35mm in Gulberg, 30mm at Jail Road, 27mm in Farrukhabad, 24mm at Nakhuda Chowk and 16.55mm in the airport area.

Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa said despite the rain, Muharram procession routes were clear and security, rescue and municipal staff were deployed as well.

Meanwhile, the PMD warned of urban flooding in the low-lying areas of Lahore, as well as flash flooding in the city’s nullahs.

“Heavy rains may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas and flash flooding in local nullahs of Peshawar, Mardan, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Kurram, Laki Marwat, Karak, Waziristan, Kohat, Tank, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Narowal, Sialkot, Lahore, Kasur, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Sahiwal on July 29,” the forecast said.

It added that heavy rains may also cause flash flooding in the local nullahs of Dera Ghazi Khan and northeast Balochistan on July 29.

According to the forecast, monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea have been penetrating the upper parts of the country and a westerly wave is present in the central and upper regions.

Consequently, rain-wind/thundershowers were expected at scattered places in Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeast Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, the forecast said.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said flooding was expected in the tributaries of the Kabul River and Dera Ghazi Khan’s hill torrents from July 27 to 30.

Due to the confluence of flows at Taunsa and Panjand, Guddu Barrage may see a high flood on July 30 and Sukkur Barrage on July 31, the NDMA added.

It also warned of a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood in GB’s mountain valleys due to increased flow in its rivers and streams.

Water level rises in Indus in Sindh

Separately, Sukkur Barrage Chief Engineer Syed Sardar Ali Shah told *Dawn.com the water level in the Indus River at Sukkur, Guddu and Kotri Barrages in Sindh rose after inflows from the Taunsa and Panjnad Barrages.

He said that all measures were taken along dykes of the Indus River to deal with any untoward incident, adding that officials of the irrigation department were patrolling the sites.

Shah said the water level had started to rise in the Indus River along the riverine area.

According to 6pm updates provide by Abdul Aziz Soomro, in-charge at Sukkur barrage control room, the water level in the Guddu Barrage had risen to 427,557 cusecs upstream and 410,317 cusecs downstream.

He said flows were recorded at 370,610 cusecs upstream and 334,010 cusecs downstream at the Sukkur Barrage and 138,532 cusecs upstream and 104,967 cusecs downstream at the Kotri Barrage.

“Due to the rising water in Indus River in the riverine area … Malik Bund was overflowing. It has flooded hundreds of acres of crops and vegetables,” Liaquat Ali Malik, a resident of Malik village of Dadu district’s riverine area, told Dawn.com.

Meanwhile, Naushahro Feroze DC Shahzeb Shaikh said that “clear instructions were issued to irrigation officials to monitor the dyke along Dadu-Moro bridge in Naushahro Feroze district and all residents of riverine areas will be moved to safe places.”

Further, Mahesh Kumar, an engineer at the irrigation department at Sehwan, told Dawn.com that “checkposts and watchtowers were established at Larkana-Sehwan Bund in Sehwan to monitor the flood situation and the water level has started to rise at Indus River in Sehwan area but all portions of the bund are safe.”

Rawal Dam spillways opened

Separately, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that spillways of Islamabad’s Rawal Dam were opened after its water level reached 1749.65 feet.

Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman said Rawal Dam’s spillways would remain open until 9pm to reduce the water level and urged people to follow their local government’s orders and keep a safe distance from rivers.

Rehman further shared data regarding the loss of life and those injured in the country from June 25 to date in the monsoon spell. The data showed that 160 people died while 256 were injured and 1,404 houses were damaged.

The NDMA also warned people of strict action against those who attempted to go into the Korang River in the capital, saying that Section 144 had been imposed at the site.

Roads remain blocked in Balochistan

Meanwhile, multiple roads remained blocked in Balochistan, where an emergency was declared yesterday as it continued to grapple with inundating rain.

A statement from Balochistan’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority said today that traffic was still suspended on major roads of the province, including the highway linking the province to Sindh.

The PDMA said that restoration work was under way on the Sukkur-Quetta N-65 Highway at the Pinjra Bridge’s spot.