©Dawn.com

KARACHI: An approaching tropical storm triggered torrential rains in Karachi and its surrounding areas on Sunday, damaging mud houses and submerging roads.

Officials feared worse flooding was to come and tried to evacuate people from their homes along the country’s southern coastline. Some villagers refused to move, but several thousand people shifted to higher ground, many from two offshore islands, said Hamal Kalmati, a government minister in Balochistan province.

He said many mud houses in Gawadar and Pasni districts had already collapsed.

The storm, about 200 kilometres away from Karachi, was expected to make landfall later Sunday, bringing more rain and winds as high as 50 miles per hour. Originally of cyclone strength, Tropical Storm Phet hit Oman on Friday, killing at least two people.

In Karachi, hours of rain left roads under more than one foot (30 centimetres) of water. Electricity was cut in many districts in the mostly low-lying city of 18 million people.

Many parts of Karachi and other towns along Pakistan’s coast are desperately poor. Roads, bridges, houses and drainage systems are already in bad condition, making them vulnerable to high winds, heavy rain and rough seas.

Rescue officials said some villagers were refusing to abandon their houses.

”They are adamant about not leaving their home despite our best efforts,” said Sualeh Ahmed Farooqui.

Source : The Dawn