PAKISTAN: Monsoon rains kill at least 11 in Karachi

ISLAMABAD, 12 September 2005 (IRIN) - At least 11 people have been reported killed over the weekend in the southern port city of Karachi after unexpectedly heavy rains at the end of the monsoon season. "More than 3,000 households in low-lying areas along the Malir and Lyari rivers in the city were flooded as water levels rose significantly after heavy rains pounded these areas," Anwar Kazmi, a spokesman for the country's largest charity, the Edhi Foundation, said from Karachi, capital of the southern province of Sindh. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), rainfall in Karachi reached an unusually high average of 50 mm over the weekend. The PMD also forecast on Saturday that lower parts of Sindh province were expected to get more rain over the next two weeks. "Thanks to poor sanitary conditions, sewage pipes and small water courses are already filled with rubbish. So whenever it rains, the water level goes up and low-lying areas get submerged," Kazmi said, adding that mostly poor people living along the Lyari and Malir rivers suffered during the monsoon season. When flooding occurs the authorities move those affected out of the area but they come back once the rains stop as they have no alternative, the Edhi spokesman added. "About 1,200 people have been shifted to two temporary relief camps set up in government schools, where they are being given food and healthcare services,” Shoaib Waqar, a district officer at the state civil defence body, said from Karachi. This unexpectedly heavy rain at the end of the monsoon has badly affected routine life across Pakistan’s largest city, leaving many areas without electricity over the past two days. Adding to the misery, inadequate clean-up operations and large pools of stagnant rainwater on the roads are now providing a breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes. Local NGOs have called on civic authorities to take immediate steps to improve sanitary conditions before more rain hits the city.