Lahore: A seven-hour long spell of monsoon rains wreaked havoc with the city as it is said to have broken the record of the last 20 years with a maximum rainfall of 238 mm.
Heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms lashed the city and its surrounding areas in the early hours of Thursday, making the weather pleasant but turning into humidity. There was power outage in many areas due to faulty transformers.
Tajpura 238 mm, Airport 219 mm, Mughalpura SDO office 174 mm, Chowk Nakhuda 159 mm, Paniwala Talab 158 mm, Laxmi Chowk 143 mm, Gulshan-e-Ravi 128 mm, Johar Town 124 mm Rain was recorded. 119 mm in Farrukhabad, 116 mm in Upper Mall and Nishtar Town, 88 mm in Samanabad, 76 mm in Gulbarga, 74.2 mm in Jail Road and 63.1 mm in Iqbal Town.
Rain water entered the houses located in low-lying areas of the city. Roads were submerged by rain water, disrupting traffic.
Over 60 LESCO feeders were tripped due to heavy rain and strong wind in the city, resulting in power outages in various areas. Almost half of the city had no electricity.
Water and Sanitation Authority (VASA) Managing Director Zafran Ahmed said that the disposal stations were working and arrangements for generators had also been made. He said all emergency camps are functioning and the disposal center is clearing water in low-lying areas.
Meanwhile, employees of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) remained active in the city during the rains and special cleaning measures were taken by the company. Personnel were deployed at 95 choking points of the city.
LWMC Deputy CEO Fahad Mehmood along with Deputy General Manager Bilal Ashraf visited several choking points i.e. Ravi Road, Circular Road, Laxmi Chowk and Bhati Chowk and reviewed the cleanliness arrangements.
LWMC CEO Rafia Haider said that steps are being taken to ensure drainage of rain water at the choking points of the city.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), rain/thundershowers are very likely to occur over Kashmir, Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Northeast Balochistan during the next 24 hours.
The Meteorological Office has also issued a warning that from July 20 to 23, heavy rains may cause urban flooding in Lahore, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala.
During the forecast period, rain may cause landslides in Kashmir, Galiyat, Murri, Chilas, Diamir, Gilgit, Hunza, Astor and Skardu.
Published in Dawn, July 22, 2022