Pakistan: Monsoon rains kill six, cripple daily life across Sindh

Sindh [Pakistan], July 22 (ANI): At least six people lost their lives in incidents of roof collapse, electrocution, and drowning as widespread rains lashed several districts of Sindh on Saturday night and Sunday, Dawn reported.
Hyderabad province experienced a brief but intense second monsoon spell early Sunday morning, leading to waterlogging in several areas. The downpour, which lasted from 6:15 a.m. to 6:40 a.m., caused flooding on most major roads in the city, according to Dawn.
The Meteorological Office recorded 18.6 mm and 21.8 mm of rainfall at its airport and city observatories, respectively. Areas such as Cloth Market, Fatima Jinnah Road, Makki Shah, Railway Station, Qasimabad, Wahdat Colony, Hussainabad, and Latifabad were submerged, largely due to choked and neglected stormwater drains. The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) reported that 55 feeders tripped during the rain, though these were gradually restored.
In Larkana and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts, heavy and light spells of rain were reported through Saturday night and Sunday. Dawn cited local Met officials as stating that Larkana received 93.5 mm and Mohenjo-Daro 86 mm of rainfall.
Two women were electrocuted while attempting to switch on water motors at their homes. Razia Mugheri, 40, from Yar Mohammed Colony, and Kaveeta Chachar, 22, from Islam Chachar village, lost their lives due to electrical shock during the rainfall, Dawn reported.
Several upper Sindh districts, including Sukkur, Jacobabad, Kandhkot-Kashmore, and Khairpur, witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall from late Saturday to Sunday evening. In Jacobabad, a 13-year-old boy named Imdad Ali Sarki died from electrocution after touching an electricity pole outside his home in Garhi Sabayo. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Jacobabad Civil Hospital.
Meanwhile, two young brothers, Rashid Ali and Abu Bakar, drowned while bathing in a canal near Khuda Bakhsh Noorani village in Thull taluka of Jacobabad. Their family located the bodies after a hectic search, Dawn reported.
In a separate incident, a seven-year-old boy named Misbah drowned in a pond of accumulated rainwater while playing outside his home.
Strong winds that preceded and accompanied the rainstorm caused prolonged power outages and disrupted telecommunications across upper Sindh. Flooding affected both urban and rural areas, with residents facing blocked access to homes, railway stations, bus stands, hospitals, and workplaces due to accumulated rainwater and sewage, according to Dawn.
In Khairpur, the roof of a vegetable shop owned by the local municipality collapsed during the rainfall. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Mirpurkhas district and its outskirts received intermittent showers, leading to flooding of highways, main roads, and low-lying neighborhoods. With the municipality failing to implement any drainage arrangements, knee-deep water mixed with sewage collected in several areas including Lalchandabad, Toorabad, Dholanabad, M.A. Jinnah Road, Station Road, Hameed Pura Colony, Hirabad, Nai Para, Bhansinghabad, Ismail Shah Graveyard and Colony, Panhwer Colony, Rajar Colony, and Pak Colony.
Like other districts, Mirpurkhas also suffered prolonged power outages during the rainfall, Dawn noted. (ANI)