Pakistan: Heavy rainfall causes wall collapses, resulting in 13 Fatalities

In response to the rain emergency, army troops have been summoned to provide crucial assistance.

Islamabad: Following the heavy monsoon rains, 13 people died in separate incidents of a wall collapse in Pakistan’s capital and Rawalpindi on Wednesday, reported Geo News. Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast that torrential rains continue to lash these twin cities as the monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea intensified today, with the highest, nearly 200 millimetres, rainfall in Rawalpindi.

The water level in Nullah Lai near Katarian swelled to 14 feet and 11 feet near Gawalmandi due to incessant rains, with army troops called in for rain emergency services.

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To alert locals, the authorities rang sirens of threat in the surroundings and advised them to stay cautious. Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 has also been alerted in Rawalpindi, reported Geo News. Meanwhile, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Rawalpindi was also put on high alert to cope with urban flooding. At the same time, a rain emergency was declared directing the residents settled along Nullah Lai and in low-lying areas to move to safer places, the WASA managing director said.

The water level in Nallah Lai was being monitored regularly, he added.

Earlier, in an incident, Police said that 12 people were killed when the wall of an under-construction bridge crashed down on them near Golra Mor, Peshawar Road in Islamabad, according to Geo News. They said the wall was 100-foot wide and 11-foot high, under which the labourers had set up a tent to live at the construction site. Police said that the rescue workers pulled bodies out from the wall’s debris with the help of machines.

However, the search for more people likely to be stuck under the rubble is underway, with four being rescued.

Meanwhile, earlier, an 11-year-old girl was killed in a similar wall collapse incident in Mohammadi Town in Islamabad.

In a separate rain-related incident, several people were injured when two buses travelling via Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway collided with each other after losing control due to a slippery road amid a downpour, according to Geo News. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Shamsabad received up to 188 millimetres of rainfall. It poured up to 129 milimetres in Bokra, 102 in Golra, 93 milimetres in H-8 area, 72 milimetres in Chaklala, and 37 milimetres in Saidpur.

Moreover, Punjab’s interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi ordered the Pakistan Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) officials to drain rainwater accumulated in the low-lying areas of Rawalpindi.

He further ordered emergency steps to be taken in this regard and asked for a progress report to be submitted to the CM office, as per Geo News.