ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The city administration in Lahore is on high alert due to the ongoing heavy monsoon rains, causing intermittent flooding in Punjab’s most populated city.
On Saturday, a cloudburst inundated the roads and low-lying areas, severely disrupting life in the provincial capital.
Punjab’s Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) reported that the heavy rainfall, up to 201 millimeters, occurred in the Gulshan-e-Ravi area of Lahore. Other areas also experienced significant rainfall, with 195 millimeters recorded in the Airport area, 193 millimeters in the Tajpura SDO Office area, and 190 millimeters in Nishtar Town.
The heavy rains caused power disruptions, with at least 70 feeders of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) tripping, resulting in power outages in several areas. LESCO assured that they would work on restoring the power supply promptly.
In response to the situation, interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited various areas of Lahore to assess the impact of the downpour. He instructed the city administration and WASA to swiftly drain rainwater from the roads and use all available resources to do so. Naqvi also ordered an increase in the number of dewatering pumps installed in the city to tackle the flooding and asked authorities to be actively present in the field to address citizen’s problems. Furthermore, he emphasized the need to maintain uninterrupted traffic flow.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department had previously issued warnings about the continuous penetration of monsoon currents from the Bay of Bengal and the influence of a westerly trough in the upper parts of the country. This weather pattern is likely to persist for the next few days and may lead to urban flooding in low-lying areas of Lahore and other upper regions of the country.
