Pakistan: Karachi citizens slam authorities for blaming 'unprecedented weather'

According to Geo News, the inefficiency described as "unprecedented" by local and provincial governments is all too familiar to residents, who face these challenges year after year.

As per Geo News, while climate change may be intensifying rainfall, citizens argue that the real disaster lies in poor urban planning and a chronically inadequate drainage system. As a result, major roads are transformed into rivers, prolonged power outages become routine, and flight operations at Jinnah International Airport are frequently disrupted.

Geo News also reported that several residents of Karachi have taken to social media, sharing photos and videos of severe urban flooding in familiar trouble spots such as Sharea Faisal, MA Jinnah Road, II Chundrigar Road, and numerous underpasses, areas that are routinely submerged during each monsoon spell.

To date, at least 17 people have lost their lives in incidents of electrocution, building collapse, and drowning. Geo News reported that, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), strong monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are affecting southern Pakistan, with further rainfall forecast for Thursday and Friday. The department has warned that continued heavy showers could increase the risk of urban flooding in Karachi.

Public figures have also voiced their frustration. Fatima Bhutto posted on X (formerly Twitter): "This corrupt party can't manage rain even though it rains every monsoon season since the dawn of time. What do you do for the people with your power? NOTHING."

Politician Ali Bhutto Junior wrote, "Our Karachi is drowning--heavy rainfall and a lack of initiative to fix the city's infrastructure. Contractors work and pocket money while the very geography of the city, built on river deltas and flood plains, is naturally designed to collect and drain water." (ANI)