- Over 200 power feeders trip as heavy rains sweep Karachi.
- Multiple areas, including Clifton, Malir, Gulshan, face hours-long outages.
- Karachi mayor, provincial officials begin emergency inspections post-rain.
KARACHI: A powerful thunderstorm brought both respite from the heat and disruption to daily life across Karachi late on Thursday, as more than 200 power feeders tripped, plunging large parts of the city into darkness.
According to reports, several areas of the port city, including Surjani Town, Malir, North Karachi, I I Chundrigar Road, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, and Gadap, witnessed heavy downpours accompanied by lightning and thunder. Rain also lashed Clifton, Defence, Scheme 33, North Nazimabad, Model Colony, Safoora, Korangi, Landhi, and Saadi Town.
In the aftermath of the brief heavy downpours, residents in many parts of the megacity were left without electricity.
The spokesperson of the city’s power provider, K-Electric, confirmed feeder trips in Gulshan-e-Maymar, Surjani, Nazimabad, and Gulshan-e-Iqbal, leading to outages in New Karachi, Jamshed Town, the old city area, and surrounding localities.
Maripur, Lyari, Keamari, Hawks Bay, and Quaidabad were among other areas also impacted by outages. In the meantime, the power supply was also suspended in PIB Colony, PECHS, and parts of Korangi.
Precautionary shut-offs: KE initiates restoration
A spokesperson for K-Electric stated that electricity had been preemptively shut off in the low-lying areas as a safety measure. Restoration work was kick-started as soon as the rain stopped, the spokesperson noted.
Electricity supply has been restored to key areas such as Allama Iqbal Road, Tariq Road, Clifton Blocks 1, 2, and 6, as well as to Punjab Colony, Delhi Colony, the Sindhi Muslim Society, Nazimabad, Nishtar Colony, Jahangir Road, and parts of Liaquatabad and the C-1 area.
The power utility further confirmed that supply had been restored in Ameenabad, Nusrat Bhutto Road, and the Marble Industrial Area.
While the power supply in Defence Phase 1 was disrupted at 11 p.m., it has since been restored, according to residents.
Meanwhile, residents of Clifton Block 5 and Yaseenabad in Gulshan-e-Shameem reported renewed outages.
Currently, uninterrupted power is being delivered through 1,750 of the city’s 2,100 feeders, KE stressed, adding that the power supply has been restored in Gulshan-e-Maymar Sectors S and T, Gulshan-e-Hadeed Phase 2, PCSIR, and the Karachi University Society.
In the meantime, residents told Geo News that the power supply had been suspended in Garden West Fawara Chowk since midnight.
Mayor Wahab inspects water situation
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab began field visits shortly after the rain stopped. He was accompanied by Municipal Commissioner Afzal Zaidi. They visited several areas, including Defence’s Khayaban-e-Hilal, Clifton, South District, and surrounding areas.
The mayor also visited the Governor House, Sindh Assembly, Supreme Court building, and the Karachi Press Club, as well as the Chief Minister’s House. During his visit, he reviewed post-rain arrangements. The Municipal Commissioner briefed him that the drainage work was in progress.
In a move to ensure round-the-clock emergency response, Wahab directed that municipal staff remain on high alert and have their leaves suspended.
The commissioner confirmed that suction pumps and personnel had been deployed in the city’s low-lying localities.
Provincial minister issues emergency instructions
Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Rehabilitation and Chairman of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Makhdoom Mehboob-uz-Zaman, instructed PDMA officials to closely monitor the rain situation across the province.
He directed Rescue 1122 teams to respond promptly to emergencies and avoid causing inconvenience to the public.
The minister stressed the need to provide maximum relief and facilities to affected citizens.
