By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Relentless monsoon rains killed at least 11 people and injured dozens across Lahore and Balochistan on Wednesday, flooding streets, toppling power lines, and exposing the fragility of Pakistan’s urban and rural defences.
With more downpours forecast, authorities brace for worsening chaos in a region already reeling from submerged roads, collapsed homes, and rising rivers.
In Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, rainfall averaged 58.8 millimeters but spiked in pockets, Nishtar Town logged 84 millimeters, Lakshmi Chowk 78 millimeters, and Paniwala Talab 74 millimeters, per the Water and Sanitation Agency.
Two deluges struck: one pre-dawn, another at midday, turning roads into canals and overwhelming the city’s strained drainage. Jail Road (63 millimeters) and Qurtaba Chowk (68 millimeters) gridlocked as sewage mixed with floodwater.
A child in Yakki Gate died, electrocuted by downed wires, while blackouts hit as Lesco power feeders failed. Residents seethed at the response. “We’ve had no power since dawn, and the water’s trapped us inside,” said Rukhsana Bibi of Mughalpura, where 60 millimeters fell.
On Barki Road, locals accused officials of favoring wealthier areas. “No pumps showed up till nightfall,” one resident fumed.
The Lahore Waste Management Company touted clearing 6,000 waste bins, but shopkeeper Asif Mahmood at Lakshmi Chowk saw little evidence. “Main roads are still underwater, no one’s here.”
Beyond Lahore, Punjab took a brutal hit. Rescue 1122 reported nine deaths: two children crushed by a collapsing roof in Sheikhupura, four buried in Pakpattan rubble, and more lost to a Jhelum valley cloudburst that smashed homes and roads.
Khanewal saw 51 millimeters, Rawalpindi 42 millimeters, and Murree 41 millimeters.
In Balochistan, the toll climbed with two deaths. A wall collapsed in Khuzdar, killing Muhammad Arif and injuring Ehsanullah; in Mastung, a tanker skidded on a wet road, crushing Muhammad Yaqoob.
Forecasters warn of flash floods in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, and Zhob as hill torrents swell.
North in Gilgit-Baltistan, rains amplified a crisis sparked by glacial melt. The Shigar River wrecked the K2 Road, while Upper Hunza’s Khunjerab River cut power to Gojal villages. Babusar Valley lost 10 homes to flash floods.
The region’s environmental agency tied the havoc to climate shifts, less snow, faster-melting glaciers, threatening water supplies downstream.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department predicts heavy showers through July 13 across Punjab, with thunderstorms set for Sialkot, Narowal, and Hafizabad on Thursday. Punjab invoked Section 144, barring access near rivers, as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) flags flood risks along the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum. Jazz and the NDMA are pushing SMS alerts to 23 million in danger zones, a bid to buy time as the deluge deepens.
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