The current spell of heavy rain along with strong winds lashed the provincial capital and other parts of upper and central Punjab on Thursday, which would also likely to persist during next couple of days with overcast conditions across the province.
The provincial capital and other cities in upper Punjab had been receiving rain for several days, but it was the first spell of heavy rain in the provincial capital, started on July 13 that inundated various roads.
The rainwater also gathered on the streets and major roads thoroughfares including GT Road, Ferozpur Road and other adjoining roads due to torrential rain in the provincial capital.
The Meteorological department also forecast more rains during the next 24 hours in all districts of the Punjab province including provincial metropolis as the monsoon currents were still penetrating most parts of the country.
During last 24 hours, rain-wind/thundershower occurred at widespread places in Jhelum, Chakwal, Gujranwala, Attock, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, T.T Singh, scattered places in Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Gujrat, Bahawalpur Sahiwal, while at isolated places in Lahore, Okara, Khushab, Jhang, Sargodha, Khanewal, Narowal, Faisalabad and Bhakkar districts.
During the last 24 hours, rainfall (mm) was recorded as Mangla=166.4, Jhelum=111.0, Chakwal=105.4, Islamabad Airport=96.7, Gujranwala=93.2, Attock=84.1, Hafizabad=75.0, Mandi Bahauddin=62.3, T.T Singh=55.3, Islamabad City=39.6, Sialkot City=38.5, Sialkot Airport=38.0, Gujrat=37.0, Bahawalpur Airport=28.4, Chaklala- Rawalpindi=24.5, Sahiwal=23.0, Murree=20.0, Rawalakot=19.8, Lahore City=18.4, Bahawalpur City=17.8, Okara=16.0, Kotli=16.0, Joharabad=14.6, Jhang=14.0, Muzaffarabad City=14.0, Sargodha City=13.6, Garhi Dopatta=13.0, Muzaffarabad Airport=8.6, Lahore Airport=5.0, Khanewal=4.0, Narowal=3.6, Noor Pur Thal=2.0 and Faisalabad=1.0.
Meanwhile, Secretary Local Government & Community Development (LGCD) Department Imran Sikandar Baloch said that the staff and machinery of local bodies across Punjab had been alerted to deal with the heavy rains and possible flood situation while emergency measures were being taken where necessary.
He said, in a statement on Thursday, that 1280 dewatering units and 1,044 spray pumps were operational in all the divisions including Lahore while 990 tractors, 622 trolleys and 111 jetting machines were present in the field.
He said that Flood Emergency Cell of LGCD was also on full alert for continuous liaison with PDMA.
He directed the chief officers across Punjab to stay in the field, keep in touch with the district administration and pay special attention to drainage of water from low lying areas.
