Record rainfall in Karachi, Pakistan in late August caused widespread damage in the city, with at least 27 fatalities reported.
Heavy rainfall and urban flooding affected Karachi and surrounding areas of Sindh Province from from 22 to 29 August. According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), left 27 dead, 13 injured and almost 2,000 homeless.
Karachi saw record rainfall in August, where the normal monthly average is just 61 mm, according to WMO figures. In a 24 hour period to 28 August, the Faisal Airbase weather station in Karachi recorded 231 mm of rain. In the period 22 to 28 August, the weather station recorded 408 mm of rain.
The torrential rain exposed the failures of Karachi’s drainage system. Residents blamed mismanagement of municipal resources, while the city’s government accused residents of blocking the drainage system with garbage, claiming that “about 31,000 tons of garbage was removed from the drains” during clean-up operations.
According to NDMA data, at least 163 people people have now lost their lives as a result of this year’s monsoon in Pakistan, including 61 in Sindh Province. At least 100 people have been injured and over 1,500 houses damaged or destroyed across the country.
