Islamabad [Pakistan], August 3 : Civic life came to a complete standstill across Hyderabad following intermittent rainfall, laying bare severe infrastructural vulnerabilities and urban mismanagement in Pakistan, Dawn reported.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) stated that the Met Office in Latifabad registered 42 mm of rainfall by 5:00 pm on Sunday, while the City Office recorded 40 mm.
The failure of essential public utilities exacerbated the crisis, leaving vast swathes of the population in darkness after a spokesperson for the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) acknowledged that power distribution collapsed across 285 of the utility's 722 11kV feeders.
In Hyderabad city alone, 66 of 166 power feeders collapsed, directly hampering basic municipal operations.
Dawn reported that major thoroughfares and vital urban arteries across the city were completely submerged, while municipal water supply systems collapsed after Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporation (HWSC) facilities were rendered dysfunctional due to the prolonged blackout.
This systemic breakdown of municipal infrastructure severely affected local commercial operations.
Trade came to a halt in major economic hubs, including the City Cloth Market, Tower Market, Anaj Mandi, and Latifabad Units 5, 10, 11 and 12, as floodwaters inundated market areas.
Dawn further reported that Mithi district logged the highest rainfall in the province of Sindh at 126 mm, followed by Chhor with 81 mm and Badin with 69 mm.
This widespread paralysis occurred despite prior warnings from the PMD, which had forecast heavy to very heavy monsoon rainfall across multiple regions of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan through August 4.