Torrential rains on Thursday drenched Lahore as the metropolis received 350 millimetres in three hours, breaking a 44-year-old record.
Heavy rains have caused rainwater to enter houses in the Tajpura area, flooding roads and disrupting early morning commutes. Power supplies have also been cut in several areas.
But the rains were not limited to Lahore as Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Pakpattan, Kasur, Jehlum and several other cities in the country received rainfall that left low-lying areas submerged.
Commenting on the situation in Lahore, Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, described the rains as “torrential”.
He added that there was heavy rain in Lahore. “There was more rain in Sindh than in Punjab, but this was to be expected.”
“This wave of rain is expected to decrease in intensity, but it will continue to rain intermittently until tonight, as there is a significant mass of clouds. From August 1 to 6 there will be rain in several areas of the country,” he said.
With heavy rains paralysing the city, water entered the emergency department of the Services Hospital and Mayo Hospital, causing extreme distress to patients.
According to the spokesperson of the National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP), rain continues to fall intermittently at most places along the national highways.
Karachi
Sarfaraz said Karachi received a maximum of 11-12 mm of light to moderate rainfall. “However, there are some areas of Karachi where there was no heavy rainfall.”
The chief meteorologist said the rain was expected to stop tomorrow, but said another spell of rain was expected from August 3 and would last until August 6.
“We expect heavy rains across the country over the next 10 days,” he added.
Sadar, II Chundrigar, Tariq Road, Gulsitan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Sharea Faisal, Airport Road, Malir Halt and Malir Cantt have been receiving rain intermittently.
