Karachi gets relief but rains wreck havoc in other

Karachi: Pakistan's biggest city and financial hub got some relief on Wednesday from the spell of heavy monsoon shower but the people in the interior areas of the Sindh province continued to suffer due to the floods and rain.

Since Tuesday, the country has seen the worst spell of rain and thunderstorm in Karachi and interior areas.

Rescue and police officials said some 35 people including 16 children had been killed in rain and flood related incidents.

In a tragic incident at the state owned Jinnah hospital here, three patients, who were on ventilators, died due to a power outage due to the tripping of feeders and damage to pylons.

Met officer Mohammad Hanif said so far more than 150 millimetres of rain had been recorded in many districts of the province while in Karachi also, many areas got up to 117 millimetres of rain.

The rain was so severe in Karachi on Tuesday that the government announced the closure of all educational institutions today as a precautionary measure but dry weather helped city administration officials in cleaning up the main roads and arteries, which were submerged under knee deep water leading to severe traffic jams and breakdowns.

Several areas of interior Sindh including Tharparkar and Badin have been disconnected from other cities as main roads have submerged under water and hundreds of villages have been submerged.

Television channels showed footage of areas in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Badin where entire localities, villages were submerged in the water.

Local residents face severe shortage of drinking water in these areas. In a tragic incident at the state owned Jinnah hospital here, three patients, who were on ventilators, died due to a power outage due to the tripping of feeders and damage to pylons.

Met officer Mohammad Hanif said so far more than 150 millimetres of rain had been recorded in many districts of the province while in Karachi also, many areas got up to 117 millimetres of rain.

The rain was so severe in Karachi on Tuesday that the government announced the closure of all educational institutions today as a precautionary measure but dry weather helped city administration officials in cleaning up the main roads and arteries, which were submerged under knee deep water leading to severe traffic jams and breakdowns.

Several areas of interior Sindh including Tharparkar and Badin have been disconnected from other cities as main roads have submerged under water and hundreds of villages have been submerged.

Television channels showed footage of areas in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Badin where entire localities, villages were submerged in the water.

Local residents face severe shortage of drinking water in these areas.

The rain and floods were a troubling reminder of floods which ravaged much of Pakistan in late July and August last year when around 2000 people were killed and 10 million left homeless. International rescue and aid organisations say around 800,000 families are still without shelter.

This year, floods have destroyed or damaged 1.2 million houses and flooded 4.5 million acres (1.8 million hectares) since late last month and more than 300,000 people have become homeless.

The late relief efforts have led to incidents in many parts of the province where angry affectees have blocked roads and looted ration trucks and containers.

General practioner, Dr Hameed Khokar said there was also the increasing danger of the floods and rain causing many fatal diseases which need to be prevented on emergency basis.

The director-general of the Sindh Health Department, Hafeez Memon, said there were 2,000 confirmed cases of malaria and the number was likely to rise.