Lahore: The incessant rain broke a 30-year-old record on Wednesday when the city received over 290 mm of rain within 10 hours, said Commissioner Lahore Mohammad Ali Randhawa.
The metropolis received 291 mm of rain, while more than a dozen areas recorded over 200 mm of rainfall, the official said, adding that this is happening due to climate change and strong monsoon.
He said that all the officers and staff of the city administration and Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) Lahore are fully mobilized to ensure the drainage of rain water.
“Earlier this year, Lahore received a maximum rainfall of 256 mm on June 26, while in 2022, Lahore is expected to record 238 mm,” Randhawa said.
The commissioner said that in 2018, Lahore recorded 288 mm of rain, the city has not received so much rain in such a short span of time in the last 30 years.
Meanwhile, MD Wasa Ghafran Ahmed said all low-lying areas would be cleared within hours of the rains stopping.
According to Vasa, 259 mm in Laxmi Chowk area of the city, 258 mm in Nishtar Town, 251 mm in Gulshan-e-Ravi, 250 mm in Johar Town, 241 mm in Kurtba Chowk, 238 mm in Tajpura, 222 mm in Pana Wala Talab. Mimi and Iqbal Town received 221 mm of rain.
The rain, which started since morning, left the city in a tizzy as all major roads and link roads were waterlogged, making movement impossible. Many vehicles were damaged on the roads due to knee-deep water.
In the low-lying areas of Shah Jamal and Tajpura, rain water entered houses while power supply was cut off, making life more miserable.
CM visited the city
Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the record-breaking rains have resulted in urban flooding while canals are overflowing due to heavy rains.
“All cabinet members and the administration are on the ground to clear the water. I am also monitoring the situation in the area and taking frequent updates from across Lahore,” said the chief minister while visiting the city to oversee relief operations.
Last week, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned that moist currents from the Arabian Sea may enter the upper parts of the country, and a western wave is also likely to enter the upper parts of the country on Monday, causing heavy rain. It will rain 4th to 7th July nationwide.
Three killed in KP
At least three people were killed in rain-related incidents in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. geo news informed of.
According to the report of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), two people died in Shangla and one in Karak.
The PDMA said eight people were injured, while seven houses suffered partial damage. One house was completely damaged.
An official of the KP Relief Department said that relief would be given to the victims as per the government’s policy.
flood warning
As per the latest meteorological analysis, the deep trough of the western wave as well as strong intrusion of the monsoon currents from both the sources and coming close to the upper air circulation are likely to cause fairly widespread to very heavy rainfall and isolated rain over upper places. There is a possibility of extremely heavy rainfall at places. The catchment areas of the Satluj, Ravi and Chenab rivers and to a lesser extent the Jhelum river.
The advisory states that due to these meteorological conditions, very high to exceptionally high level of flood is expected in Chenab river.
It further said that the flood situation in the Ravi and Sutlej rivers will depend on the water released from India and there is a possibility of high to very high level of flood in the drains of Ravi and Chenab rivers.
