RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: Heavy rain lashed the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday evening, inundating low-lying areas and causing damage in different parts of the garrison city.
Leh Nullah swelled to 17.5 feet at Gawalmandi Bridge and 19.5 feet at Kattarian Bridge. However, water level receded in the night when the rain stopped.
In the evening, rain and water in Leh Nullah forced the local administration to switch on the sirens of flood warning in the city so that people around Leh Nullah could move to safer places.
The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Rescue 1122, Civil Defence and health departments called out their officials to deal with any emergency.
Fear and panic ran through the localities adjacent to Leh Nullah and other nullahs in the garrison city with the residents shifting their precious items to the second floors of their houses to avoid damage, especially electricity appliances.
The residents feared that the nullah may burst its banks in case of more rain as the widths of Leh and other nullahs have reduced due to failure of Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) to clear its banks of encroachments.
The Meteorological Department recorded 46 millimetres of rain at Saidpur, 100mm at Zero Point, 80mm at Golra, 54mm at Bokra in Islamabad and 30mm at Shamsabad, 12mm at Chaklala, 43mm at Pirwadhai, 13mm at Gawalmandi and 64mm at New Kattarian in Rawalpindi. It forecast more rain till Tuesday evening.
A Met official said monsoon currents from Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea were penetrating into the upper and central parts of the country.
A westerly wave is also affecting upper parts of the country and likely to persist till September 3,” he said.
He said that the widespread rain-wind/thundershower was likely in Kashmir and northeast Punjab and at scattered places in Islamabad and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Met Office warned that torrential rains may cause urban flooding in low lying areas/flash floods in nullahs/streams of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Narowal, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Lahore, Kasur, Okara, Sheikhupura, Hafizabad and adjoining areas. Landslides/mudslides may cause roads closures in hilly areas of KP, Murree, Galliyat.
When contacted, Wasa Managing Director Saleem Ashraf said sirens were sounded in localities adjacent to Leh Nullah as water level rose to the pre-alert level of 19.5 feet.
However, he said as the rain stopped in Islamabad, the water level in Leh Nullah reduced from 19.5 feet to 11.5 feet at Kattarian and from form 17.5 feet to 14.5 feet at Gawalmandi by 9pm.
“Less rain occurred in Rawalpindi city but 99mm rain was recorded at Zero Point and G-11 and all the rainwater entered Leh Nullah at Kattarian Bridge which increased the water level in the nullah.”
He said as the cleanliness of nullah was completed, the water discharged into Soan River without any hurdle.
He said that all officials were called to deal with any emergency and to drain out rainwater accumulated on roads adjacent to Leh Nullah.
District Officer Rescue 1122 Sibghatullah told Dawn that there was no report about loss of life during the flood-like situation.
He said Rescue 1122 was on alert till the next 48 hours to deal with any untoward situation, adding teams had been deployed in the city and along Soan River.
Islamabad
The heavy spell of rain on Monday evening disrupted traffic in various areas of Islamabad as rainwater accumulated on roads, including Bhara Kahu Bypass and Islamabad Expressway.
According to CDA, 99mm of rain was recorded in H-8, 78mm in Golra and 46mm in Saidpur with an overall average of 70mm across the capital city.
Rainwater accumulated on roads/streets in G-6, G-7 while some streets in G-7 also faced a flood-like situation. However, after a while rainwater drained out naturally.
However, rainwater accumulated in G-11 Markaz, where motorists faced hardships. Similarly, water remained stagnant in a portion of the deputy commissioner office and in the basement of Nadra office at G-10, which was drained out by emergency and rescue teams.
Similarly, water also accumulated on some roads inside the Diplomatic Enclave, which was drained out within an hour.
A massive rainwater accumulation was reported at Bhara Kahu Chowk on Murree Road, raising question marks about the efficiency of concerned departments. Moreover, Bhara Kahu Bypass was also flooded with rainwater.
Meanwhile, a press release issued by the CDA said on the direction of the interior minister, CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa “personally monitored clearance operations across the federal capital, while Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon accompanied him during the field visits.”
It said immediately after rainfall, CDA and ICT teams launched an operation to drain out water and Diplomatic Enclave and Saidpur Village were completely cleared. Water was also drained from G-11.
It said traffic on all major roads was flowing smoothly.
Traffic alert in Rawalpindi
The city traffic police issued a traffic alert in view of Monday’s heavy rain. A spokesman for the traffic police issued a traffic alert for Jhelum Road updating motorists that the flow of vehicular movement was slightly obstructed near Golf Club Marquee due to rainwater.
A similar traffic alert was issued for Faizabad where traffic flow was obstructed on Murree Road due to an excessive rainwater accumulation. At 9pm, the police said traffic was moving smoothly across all roads though a light drizzling was ongoing.
On the other hand, Rescue 1122 urged citizens to exercise extreme caution during the monsoon season. They also urged the parents never to let their children go near drains and electric poles during rain.
