Karachi braced for heavy rains today as the Sindh government declared a rain emergency in the province alerting allconcerned departments to be on their guard to tackle any situationincluding urban flooding.Besides shutting down early the government and private offices today,the authorities directed the deputy commissioners and all officialsconcerned to take required measures.
According to the Met Department, rain/thunderstorms with few heavy fallsare expected in northern parts of the province from Feb 29 till March 2.Similar weather conditions are likely to prevail in the rest of theprovince from March 1. “Heavy falls may generate urban flooding inlow-lying areas. Fishermen of Balochistan are advised not to ventureinto deep sea till March 1 while those of Sindh are advised to remaincareful during the forecast period,” it said.
Meanwhile, rain turned weather chilly in Lahore on Friday as light raincontinued for hours.Met office also predicted rain and thunderstorm during next 24 hoursacross south/central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Theheavy rain may cause flooding in Islamabad and Rawalpindi’s localnullahs. Moreover, amid heavy rains during the past 48 hours in Balochistan, moreheavy rainfall was expected on Friday which may cause further floodingin Gwadar, Ketch, Turbat, Panjgur, Awaran, Barkhan, Kohlu, Sibbi,Naseerabad, Dalbandin, Khuzdar, Dera Ghazi Khan, while heavy rainfalland flash flooding was predicted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Murree,Galliyat, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.Met office also warned that heavy rain/snowfall may cause closure ofroads in Murree, Galiyat, Naran, Kaghan, Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Mansehra,Abbottabad, Shangla, Astore, Hunza, Skardu, Neelum valley, Bagh, Poonchand Haveli on Friday and Saturday.Landslides in Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Murree, Galiyat, Kashmir andGilgit-Baltistan may damage loose structures like electric poles,vehicles and solar panels etc.
During the past 24 hours Balochistan’s Jiwani areas received63-millimeter rain, Gwadar 54mm, Kalat 37mm, Quetta City 23mm, Samungli21mm, Dalbandin 14mm, Turbat 8mm, Nokkundi, Sibbi 6mm, Zhob, Barkhan,Khuzdar, Panjgur 4mm, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Parachinar 17mm, DI Khan City4mm, Bannu 3mm, Chitral 1mm while Punjab’s district Bhakkar received 2mm rain.
