Thursday’s heavy rain in Lahore, which is persisting for the second day, led to the tragic death of at least four individuals, including three children under the age of 10, and injured 15 others in two separate building collapses.
As reported by Rescue 1122, a house located near the Bandianwala bridge in the Amar Sidhu area experienced a roof collapse due to the downpour, resulting in four fatalities. In addition, a 10-year-old child was injured and has been admitted to Lahore General Hospital for treatment.
In another event, the collapse of a wall at the Government Mozang Teaching Hospital, which borders an adjacent building, injured 14 people. The wall reportedly fell onto the hospital’s waiting area, causing the “waiting shade” to cave in. The injured were subsequently moved to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
Read: Monsoon Rains Wreak Havoc in Lahore: Streets Flooded, Lives Lost, and Power Disruption
According to Water and Sanitation Agency’s (Wasa) Monsoon Control Room reports, rainfall levels varied significantly across the city. The highest rainfall, 65mm, was recorded at the Nishtar Town director office, followed by the Johar Town SDO office and Lakshmi Chowk with 57mm and 38mm, respectively. Upper Mall, the Mughalpura SDO office, and the airport area experienced the least rainfall, ranging between 3.5mm and 5.5mm.
Government’s Assurance and Preparatory Actions
In light of the situation, Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi assured the public that measures were under control, with secretaries overseeing each Wasa zone and ministers designated to monitor specific divisions. Preparations for a possible flood were already underway, he added.
Earlier, Wasa Managing Director Ghufran Ahmed inspected the drainage operations across various parts of the city, ensuring that all disposal stations were working at full capacity. He also instructed to ensure fuel supplies for all generators draining the floodwater.
An official statement from the office of Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman said he had personally overseen the preparations for water drainage, visiting different roads and underpasses. He ordered all officers and department secretaries to assess underpasses and disposal stations and implement special traffic flow measures. Additionally, more pumps were directed to be installed to drain water from low-lying areas.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued a forecast warning of potential urban floods, flash floods, and landslides in several areas due to heavy rainfall from July 6 to 8. They urged citizens to take precautions to avoid any unfortunate situations.
Furthermore, a flood alert for July 8 to 10 was issued by the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority, citing heavy rainfall in the upper catchments of rivers Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab, which could lead to “very high to exceptionally high” flood levels, especially in River Chenab. The authority noted that the flood conditions in rivers Ravi and Sutlej would largely depend on water releases from India.
