Commissioner reviews drainage operation after rain lashes Lahore

Heavy rain and strong winds battered the Punjab capital Lahore on Friday, causing widespread disruption. Johar Town and other areas saw a deluge of 100mm rain in just 35 minutes, drenching the streets and interfering with Friday prayers. The downpour knocked down hundreds of trees and power poles, blocking roads and snarling traffic.

Motorists were left stranded on roads flooded by uprooted trees. According to the Water and Sanitation Agency, Johar Town received the heaviest rainfall at 100.2mm, with Gulshan-i-Ravi and Samanabad following with 46.2mm and 42.8mm respectively.

The rain caused significant damage to the city's infrastructure, with several distribution feeders of 11kV capacity tripping due to the downpour. This left large parts of Lahore without electricity for hours, which remained out until around 8:30pm. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued a warning that heavy to exceptionally heavy rainfall is expected to continue until Saturday, potentially causing urban flooding in low-lying areas of Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Mardan, Swabi, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Sialkot.

Local streams and hill torrents in regions including Kashmir, Murree, Galiyat, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and the Potohar region could also swell, raising the risk of flash flooding. River flows at several key barrages and headworks are anticipated to reach low-level flood stage within the next 24 hours, with moderate increases in flows in major rivers and adjoining nullahs expected over the following 24 to 36 hours.