Heavy rains paralyze Karachi
Baku, September 13 (AZERTAC). Pakistan is haunted by the memory of the epic floods of last year which led to much criticism of the government for its slow response.
Over 800,000 families are without permanent shelter last year`s floods in the country, aid groups say, and more than a million need food aid.
Government already unpopular in Pakistan now faces a crisis as the monsoon rains that killed 200 people swept southern Sindh province.
New flooding has made 280,000 homeless, destroyed or damaged 1.2 million homes and 4.5 million acres flooded since the end of August, those responsible for disaster management and Western aid groups say.
In Karachi, the capital of Sindh, the rain was expected until at least Wednesday.
Many streets are impassable, the cars were blocked, several stations were flooded and without any visible effort was underway to drain the water.
“We recorded 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) of rain in Karachi and the situation is pretty bad. Many important roads and areas are flooded at the moment and it can turn even worse,” said Mohammad Hussain Syed, the area of the city Coordination Officer.
He said no casualties had been recorded.
Market leaders in Pakistan`s largest stock of Karachi said they close early due to poor attendance and thin trading volumes. But the decision was reversed.
Many banks were also closed.
“I thought, that can do the job, but it was the wrong decision. Now I`m stuck. My car broke down, and I can not even find someone for help,” said the banker Khalid Hussein, standing at knees in water.
Monsoon rains sweep the subcontinent from June to September and are crucial for agriculture.
In 2010, floods killed about 2,000 people and leaving 11 million homeless in one of the worst natural disaster in Pakistan.
One-fifth of Pakistan was then immersed in water - an area larger in Italy - and the government has met $ 10 billion bill to repair the damage to homes, bridges, roads and other infrastructure.
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