Karachi, Punjab cities brace for another monsoon spell

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued an alert after the Met Office forecast more monsoon thundershowers, accompanied by strong winds, from today till August 31 in Sindh, including Karachi, and from today till August 29 in other parts of the country, which could result in landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in urban areas, reported 24NewsHD TV channel, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday.  

Already, parts of southern Sindh, including Tharparkar, Mithi, Umarkot, Islamkot, Nangarpar and Chachro have been receiving heavy rains for the last 24 hours, while torrential rains are also expected over the mountains of Kirthar Range and Balochistan during the next few days.

Similarly, the Met Office has said that Islamabad, different parts of Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) are also likely to receive rains.

It has predicted intermittent rain spells for Lahore and other cities of Punjab namely Rawalpindi, Potohar region, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan that could result in urban flooding.

The NDMA has also alerted district administrations and concerned departments in Sindh following the prediction for brief spells of downpours in some areas of the province, including in the coastal region, which could lead to inundation of low-lying areas of Karachi, Badin, Hyderabad, Dadu and Shahdadpur.

It has advised fishermen to avoid going deep into the sea.

Similarly, while putting administrations and concerned departments in Kashmir, KP, GB and Balochistan on a high alert in view of showers forecast for these areas, the Authority warned of streams and nullahs bursting their banks and incidents of landslides. “Take precautionary measures in view of inclement weather,” it has urged.

Reporters: Muhammad Hammad and Hammad Angaria