Power outages across Karachi as heavy rains hit the City

Strong wind and heavy rains hit parts of Karachi on Sunday as a storm in the northeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Gulf of Kutch moved closer to making landfall in the southeast of Sindh. Following heavy rains, at least 150 feeders of K-Electric, the power utility supplying electricity to Karachi, were shut down, leaving large swathes of the city without power.

The areas most affected include Buffer Zone, KBR Colony, Gulshan-e-Waseem, Peoples Chowrangi, Namak Bank, Nusrat Bhutto Colony, Paposh Nagar, Nazimabad, Mangophir, Surjani, New Karachi, Orangi Town, Banaras, Old Golimar, Jahangirabad, Pak Colony, Lyari, Landhi, Korangi, Shah Faisal, and Malir.

A K-Electric spokesperson said that power is being supplied to the city through 1,750 feeders out of 1,900 feeders.

Earlier, rains started late on Sunday afternoon in the coastal localities of Clifton, Defence and Korangi before hitting other parts of the city including Saddar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Malir, Scheme 33, North Nazimabad and other areas.

Heavy rains accompanied by loud thunder were reported from different parts of the city.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), by 8pm, the most rain was received in Gulshan-e-Hadeed with 59 millimeters. It was followed by Orangi Town with 32.8 mm, and Airport Old Area with 29.5mm.

Meanwhile, following the most recent spell of rains in the city, authorities at Hub Dam said that it had reached capacity. Subsequently, the spillways of the dam have been opened to allow excess water to safely leave the dam.

In a notification issued by the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority Hub Dam project director, after the recent rains, the level of the dam rose by 18 feet to the dam’s maximum conservation level of 339 feet on Sunday morning.

Karachi Administrator Dr Murtaza Wahab said that they were alert to the new system, adding that while the city was receiving rains, most of the areas were clear of the water. An official added that heavy machinery to clear roads and drains has been deployed on standby.