Heavy thunderstorm inundates low-lying areas in Lahore

Lahore: A “record-breaking” spell of rain in the metropolis that continued for several hours on Wednesday disrupted daily life, inundating streets and low-lying areas.

There was heavy rain in different areas of the city, after which the weather became pleasant.

Rain lowered the temperature in the adjacent areas of Abbott Road, Lakshmi Chowk, Qurtaba Chowk, Jail Road, Railway Station, Dharmapura, Samanabad, Mughalpura, and Ichhra.

The city's major streets and highways became clogged with water as a result of the rain, which inconvenienced people and hampered traffic movement.

Rain caused several feeders of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) to trip, which led to numerous neighborhoods losing energy. After the rain, the feeders will be repaired, according to LESCO personnel.

The monsoon rains also threatened to inundate the low-lying regions of the city, according to the Meteorological Department's forecast for intermittently severe rain through July 30.

Yesterday evening, A meeting of the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) was held in which the situation of water reservoirs was discussed on Tuesday.

The Federal Flood Commission, PDMA, the Meteorological Department, and other departments attended the NEOC meeting, which was presided over by acting NDMA chairman.

Authorities from the Mangala and Tarbela dams provided a briefing on the state of the water reservoirs.

The participants from Federal Flood Commission, PDMA, the Meteorological Department were informed about the dams' present situation. 

It was reported to the meeting that the Tarbela Dam has used around 80% of its overall capacity and the Mangala Dam about 76%.

It was explained to the attendees that there was no threat of flooding in the low-lying areas affected by both dams.

They were informed that the Indus and Kabul rivers' catchment areas would experience significant rainfall from July 27 to July 30.

The Pakistan Indus Water Commission was instructed to continue monitoring the water release in rivers and Indian dams, and the body was instructed to maintain the public education campaign to prevent potential repercussions of the monsoon.

In case of rain in the catchment areas, the NDMA instructed the competent authorities to regularly monitor water bodies and rivers and safeguard the safety of low-lying areas.