LAHORE, Jul 7 (NNN-APP) – At least nine people were killed and over 10 others injured, during the last 24 hours, after torrential rains hit Pakistan’s eastern metropolitan of Lahore, said the rescue department, yesterday.
Rescue department Rescue-1122 said, the deceased persons died of electrocution, drowning and being buried in debris, as the city witnessed 291 millimetres of rain, the highest figure in the last 30 years, in the provincial capital of eastern Punjab province.
According to the rescue department, a family of four, including a couple and their two sons, lost their lives when the roof of their house collapsed, due to heavy rain in the Misri Shah area of the city on Wednesday evening.
An 11-year-old boy drowned in rainwater, at Thokar Sunny Park area of the city, while four other people, including a woman, died of electrocution in different areas of Lahore.
The rains on Wednesday and yesterday have caused urban flooding and damage to infrastructure in several areas.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority Director General, Imran Qureshi, told local media they are monitoring the situation with machinery and personnel on high alert, as the majority of the roads and underpasses of the city are inundated with rain water causing severe traffic disruption.
Punjab’s Chief Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, said, teams have been appointed across the city to clear main roads and drain water from submerged areas, adding that, another spell of rain is expected to hit the city and the authorities are preparing for that.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted heavy rainfall for other parts of the province, saying that, the infiltration of moist currents from the Arabian Sea will bring rains.
Earlier on Wednesday, the PMD had also warned of urban flooding because of heavy rainfall in low-lying areas of the province in the next two days.– NNN-APP
