LAHORE: Heavy monsoon rainfalls broke a 44-year record in Lahore on Thursday, causing the deaths of at least four people, including a girl. And injuring seven others in incidents of electrocution and roof collapse.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported that Lahore received almost 360 millimeters of rain, flooding hospitals, interrupting power, and submerging streets in the city of 13 million people. This surpassed the previous 332 millimeters of rain in three hours set in July 1980. The downpour led to multiple casualties, property damage, and widespread infrastructure paralysis in the provincial capital.
In Nishat Colony, a young man was electrocuted near an electricity pole, and in Kot Lakhpat. A 14-year-old boy drowned in rainwater, according to rescue officials. Another man died from electrocution due to an exposed wire in Defence Phase VII.
A girl died, and five others were injured when a roof collapsed in Nishtar Colony. Additionally, a wooden roof collapsed near Shaukat Khanum Chowk, wounded two more people. Rescue workers also reported that seven goats were killed after being buried under the debris of a collapsed wall in Kahna, a suburban area of Lahore.
“This was record-breaking rainfall,” Farooq Dar, the national weather agency’s deputy director, told the media. Sardar Sarfaraz, the head meteorologist at the PMD, described the rain as “torrential” and noted that while there was more rain in Sindh compared to Punjab. Heavy rain across Lahore was expected to continue intermittently until the evening. He also mentioned that from August 1-6, several parts of the country would experience more rain.
The PMD had predicted a wetter-than-usual monsoon season for Pakistan. A country experts say is highly vulnerable to severe weather due to climate change. Over the past three days, 24 people have died due to rainfall in the mountainous northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.
As the rains wreaked havoc in Lahore, the city’s commissioner declared an emergency. Announcing that offices and schools would be closed for the day. Two government hospitals near the Indian border reported flooded wards and power outages continued into the afternoon.
