Heavy rain, snowfall paralyze routine life in Balochistan cities

Following spells of heavy, devastating rains lashing different parts of Balochistan for the last several days, some upper parts of Balochistan, including the provincial capital, Quetta, received snow on Friday, resulting in a further drop in temperatures, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.    

Snow was reported from the areas like Kan Mehterzai, Mastung, Muslim Bagh, Ziarat and Kozak Top, which created inconvenience for motorists as sheets of ice accumulated on roads and highways impeded smooth flow of traffic.

The National Highways Authority (NHA) officials, on the other hand, said that salt was being sprayed as well as machines were being used to remove snow from roads.       

On the other hand, as per the latest figures released by the weather department on the amount of rain that fell in different parts of Balochistan during the last 24 hours, 11 districts of the province received up to 223 millimeters of rain during the afore-mentioned period.

Qalat, with 53 millimeters (mm) of rain, topped the list followed by Khuzdar which received 34 millimeters of rain.

Similarly, 30 mm of rain fell in Sibbi, 21 mm in Dalbandin, 20 mm in Turbat, 16 mm in Quetta, 15 mm in Quetta and Barkhan each, 12 mm in Pasni, nine mm in Panjgur, eight mm in Ormara and five mm in Nokundi.   

PDMA releases report on loss of life, property in Balochistan

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority’s (PDMA) report, six people, including three children, have so far died due to heavy rains in Balochistan.    

It says that 50 homes in Gwadar have been completely destroyed, while 90 have been partially damaged; thousands of people are now homeless, while large areas of the city and its suburbs are under several feet of water.

Four die in rain-related incidents in KP

Rains not only disrupted routine life in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) but also resulted in the loss of human life and property.

An eight-month-old baby girl died after roof of her home caved in due to downpour in Budhpir area of Peshawar.

In another incident in the city, reported from Board Bazaar Tajabad area, three kids and their mother were buried underneath the rubble when the roof of their room came down.

Rescue1122 personnel said that they shifted the injured to a hospital, where the condition of one of the children was stated to be critical.

Similarly, in Lower Dir, three people were killed after their house was buried under a mudslide.

Widespread rains reported from Sindh

Different parts of Sindh have also been pounded by rain during the last 24 hours.   

Intermittent spells of light to heavy rain in Karachi inundated not only low-lying areas but also some main roads eventually leading to traffic jams.   

Localities like Mehmoodabad, Nursery, Akhtar Colony, Baldia Town, Punjab Chowrangi, Punjab Colony, Mehran Town and even Defence were flooded.  

Power supply to different areas of the port city was also disconnected.

Punjab, Islamabad, AJK receive rain, snow

Likewise, rain also lashed different cities of Punjab and Islamabad, which again turned the weather cold.

Showers were reported from Murree, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Kasur, Sialkot, Chiniot, Jhang, Chiniot, Sahiwal, Bahawalnagar, Okara and Layyah.  

Snow over the mountains in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) made the weather extremely cold.

The Met Office, however, have forecast that the weather will remain dry and bitterly cold in Balochistan during the next 24 hours.

However, it has predicted snowfall for different parts of AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan during the ongoing week.   

Reporters: Isa Tarin, Amir Shehzad, Muhammad Hassan Khan, Jawad Asif and Basim Iftikhar