KARACHI: At least 20 people were killed in different parts of Karachi as heavy rain lashed the port city on Saturday.

 

The heavy downpour caused massive gridlocks in the city, adding to the miseries of the commuters.

In Paposh Nagar a child was killed from electrocution, while another child lost his life in Korangi. A man was electrocuted near the KESC office in the Defence area of the city.

Three children were killed as a roof of an apartment collapsed in Gulzar-e-Hijri. Two more children were killed when they fell into a drain in the North Nazimabad. Two people were electrocuted in Sarjani town.

Three people were injured when shed of a CNG station located near the NIPA intersection collapsed.

KESC has appealed to the residents of the city to stay away from electricity poles and wires. According to the KESC spokesman, 102 feeders have tripped in the city, leaving Nazimabad, Landhi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Lyari, Malir, Clifton, Korangi, Balida and North Karachi without electricity.

 

Rainwater flooded roads and streets in Old City Area, Defence, II Chundrigar Road, Nazimabad, Steel Town, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Shahra-e-Faisal, Landhi and the areas adjoining University Road and Airport Road.

Supermoon to light up the sky tonight

For stargazers and astronomy enthusiasts across the world, the Sunday sky will be a visual treat as the Supermoon will make its brightest and closest appearance this year. Scientifically called as the ‘perigee moon’, the celestial event will see the moon in line with the sun and the earth at a specific point on the moon’s orbit. While Supermoons are an annual occurrence, this will be a special phenomenon as the Earth’s satellite on Sunday will appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter. To catch a glimpse of the moon in all its glory, Hyderabadis will just have to look skywards on Sunday evening post 6.49pm.

The moon will come closest to the earth and will be at a distance of 3,56,989 km away from us. “The Supermoon on Sunday will be doubly special as this is the closest that the moon has come to the earth since last year in May and it will be a full moon,” said Raghunandan Kumar, director and founder secretary of the Planetary Society of  Kumar added that planets Saturn and Venus can also be spotted in the sky as non-twinkling bright objects in the east post sunset.

Like most such celestial occurrences, superstitions are associated with the Supermoon as well. Many believe the phenomenon to be a harbinger of ill luck which causes natural calamities and affects human behavior. The NASA, however, has debunked all such theories stating that there is no scientific evidence to show a co-relation between phases of the moon and the incidence of crime, sickness, human behavior etc.

Scientists closer home too are urging people to not shy away from the Sunday sky. “We would strongly advise people to come outdoors and see for themselves the astronomical miracle on Sunday,” Kumar said.

The next such Supermoon is expected to be seen after duration of one year, one month and 18 days that is, August 10, 2014.

Monsoon Rains Sweep through India – to Delight of Farmers

Half of India has been hit by heavy rains in this year’s monsoon, which account for 70% of the country’s annual rainfall.

The monsoon hit Kerala in the south of the country before sweeping northwards with rains expected to intensify into July.

As the capital of New Delhi gets ready to embrace the monsoon, authorities set up a 24/7 helpline to deal with health problems exacerbated by the feeble sewerage system in the city.

Farmers, who account for 15% of India’s economy, welcomed the rains, however.

In 2012 the harvesting of wheat, cotton, and sugar suffered from the weakest rainfalls in years and farmers were hoping for prolonged rainfall this year to make up for it.

“There has been plenty of rainfall over drought areas of the southern region and even adjoining Maharashtra has received excess splash,” Chengal Reddy, a farmers’ spokesman, said.

The monsoon usually covers all of India by mid-July.

People walk in a heavy rain shower in the northern Indian hill town of Shimla

Source: Reuters

A woman carries her child through a heavy rain shower

Source: Reuters

Schoolchildren run for shelter in Harwan

Source: Reuters

Sikh men ride a jeep during a heavy rain shower in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh

Source: Reuters

Allahabad

Source: Reuters

Children run for cover

Source: Reuters

A woman holds an umbrella to shield her children and herself from the rain

Source: Reuters

Boys play at a sea wall as waves crash over it during a monsoon rain shower

Source: Reuters

A farmer plants rice saplings in a paddy field in Amritsar

Source: Reuters

A man takes shelter from the rain under a plastic sheet

Source: Reuters

Heavy MonsooN Rain In India..

INDIA (CNN) — Heavy monsoon rains lashed incessantly across parts of north India especially wreaking havoc in the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, leaving more than 50 people dead and hundreds stranded. Rescue operations are underway on war footing. Army has set up medical aid posts in three affected areas in Uttarakhand. The Army along with the ITBP , NDMA and BRO are in full swing carrying out rescue operations and clearing the blocked roads for smoother traffic of the stranded vehicles.

The monsoon has struck early and it’s already creating mayhem across the country. Uttarakhand has been battered by the rain fury. The torrential rain caused landslides in the higher reaches and swept away several roads and bridges in Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts. The worst affected districts in the state are Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, Gaurikund and Kedarnath. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said that the government is taking all necessary steps to provide relief in affected areas.

The unprecedented rains have led to suspension of the annual Kailash Mansarovar yatra. The pilgrims have been stopped in Buddhi, and according to Indo-Tibetan Border Police, they are accommodated in various locations and the route will be opened again after things get normal.

The Chardham Yatra to Uttarakhand’s Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri shrines in Garhwal division has come to a halt due to heavy landslides and landslips. Landslides were reported from over 12 places on the Rishikesh-Gangotri, the Dehradun-Yamnotri, the Rishikesh-Badrinath and the Rishikesh-Kedarnath National Highway. Six hanging bridges built on Alaknada and Mandakini rivers in Chamoli and Rudrapryag districts were also reported to have collapsed on Sunday. Over 12,000 tourists and pilgrims on their way to Chardham Yatra are stranded on these routes. Over 500 ITBP personnel are carrying out rescue and relief operation for stranded yatris. District administration is also providing all assistance to stranded yatris including drinking water, food and medical help. Two teams of National Disaster Response Force are also assisting in relief work in Rudraprayag district of the state.

Met department has said that the next 24 hours will remain critical, after which situation will ease a bit. In Himachal Pradesh, incessant rainfall triggered massive landslides in the Sangla Valley and the area remains cut-off since Sunday. Over 1000 tourists and locals were stranded at various places, including 800 in Sangla alone and heavy rains were hampering the rescue operations. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and over 1,500 tourists are stuck after the landslides blocked the road leading to the valley in Kinnaur district.

Rain lashes Many Parts of Sindh During Night.

Swp
Rain With Fast Wind Lashes Upper And Eastern Sindh in Late night Morning hours.. Moderate intensity of Rainfall occurred in Larkana Khairpur Ranipur Bhriya Tando Masti Sanghar Kot-lalu and Other parts of various districs got light to moderate rain .

According to Source  Yestreday night rain with thunderstorm hits many pars of upper sindh including Stagnant rainwater hit districts, including Sukkur, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Larkana and Khairpur traces of rain reported in nawabshah District.. Spotty drizzle also occur in some parts of karachi..

Lahore:torrential rain that lashed the city on Saturday morning.

Scores of localities were inundated and the rainwater could not be cleared from many localities till in the evening despite tall claims by the government.

The only road that remained unaffected by the very heavy rain was the pathway of the metro bus service, indicating the need for also investing funds in improving the city’s age-old run-down drainage system and road network.

Power supply was disrupted in majority localities in the city immediately after rain began. Overhead wires fell, sparked and terrified people. The power supply could not be restored for several hours in many localities. Some still missed it by Saturday evening.

Rain also lashed several cities in the country because of a pre-monsoon system and a westerly wave over the upper parts of the country.

The torrential rain in Lahore that began late last night continued till in the morning. It was accompanied by a windstorm having a velocity of 60km per hour, uprooting trees, plants and bill boards and leveling houses.

Parveen, 60, her daughters Uzma, 14, Ismat, 16, and Hussain, 6-month, were killed as the roof of their house collapsed at Qainchi Amar Sidhu. Parveen’s husband Khushi Muhammad, a son and a daughter were injured.

Ahad Khan, a watchman, was killed when the roof of his room caved in at Shawala Chowk, Singhpura. His friend Shahid Khan was injured.

In Sittara Colony, Kamahan Road, Abbas and his two children, Wasim, 6, and Irum, 3, were killed as the roof of their house collapsed. His wife Irshad Bibi and three children sustained injuries.

At Bedian Road, Chungi Amar Sidhu, Ali Hasan, 7, was electrocuted as an overhead electricity wire fell on him during the rain storm.

In Hanjarwal, Muhammad Ashraf and Khurshid Alam were electrocuted as an iron bar they were unloading from a truck touched an overhead electricity wire during the rain.

According to Rescue 1122 several other persons too were injured in rain related incidents in different parts of the city.

Meanwhile, rain kept life disrupted in the city throughout the day. The Met office recorded 102mm of rain at its Jail Road observatory and 92mm at the airport.

It inundated low lying areas not only in the main city but also in localities like Gulberg. A large number of cars and motorcycles broke down on the submerged roads during the rain storm and afterwards, causing a great deal of inconvenience to people and disrupting traffic.

Pedestrians and motorcyclists took shelter as the windstorm began to uproot trees and bill boards.

Some of the streets and localities that were submerged included Lakshmi Chowk, Jail Road and Muslim Town underpasses, Multan, Road, Wahdat Road, Ferozepur Road, The Mal, Main Boulevard Gulberg, Gadhafi Stadium, Barkat Market, Garden Town, Model Town, Sabzazaar, Marghazar, Chauburji, Samanabad, Bahawalpur Road, Mozang, Shara-e-Fatima Jinnah, Lawrence Road, Shahrah-i-Awan-i-Tijarat, Ravi Road, G T Road, Lahore Hotel Chowk, Shimla Hill, Allama Iqbal Road, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Wapda Town, Valencia, Dubanpura, Mustafa Town, Thoker Niaz Baig and Cantonment.

Roads in some Wapda Town blocks were inundated as a local drain spilled over.

Earlier, the Met office reported widespread rain in the country. Toba Tek Singh received 50mm of rain, Jhelum 39, Kotli 37, Rawlakot 36, Murree 35, Jhang 50, Sahiwal and Bannu 29 (each), Okara, Muzaffarabad and Sialkot A/P 25(each), Noorpur Thal 22, Sialkot cantt 12, Johrabad 20, Islamabad Z/P 18, Kakul 17, Faisalabad 15, Mangla 12, Saidu Sharif 10, Badin 9, Malam Jabba 7, Chitral and Sargodha 6(each), Bahawalnagar 5, Mirkhani and Garhi Dupatta 4(each), Pattan and Bunji =03 (each), Bhakkar, Gujranwala and D I Khan 2 (each).

The Met office forecast widespread thunderstorm/rain with gusty winds, heavy falls at isolated places, over northeast Punjab, DG Khan, Multan, Bahawalpur, D I Khan, Bannu, Kohat divisions, Waziristan and northeast Balochistan in the next 24 hours. Fairly widespread thunderstorm /rain with gusty winds may occur over Sahiwal and Malakand divisions, north Punjab (including Islamabad), Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.

Scattered thunderstorm/rain with gusty winds would occur over Peshawar, Mardan divisions and Sindh.

Lahore will also receive more rain that can be heavy at times.

Dusty day: Fierce rain, winds kill 17, injure several across K-P

Traffic navigating in difficult conditions caused by the duststorm in Peshawar. PHOTO: PPI

PESHAWAR / ISLAMABAD / SHERGARH / SHABQADAR / MARDAN / NOWSHERA / SWAT / GILGIT / CHARSADDA: At least 17 people, including  seven minors, were killed and several others were injured in separate incidents as heavy winds followed by rainstorms hit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday.

Strong winds blowing at 75 kilometres per hour caused heavy destruction across the province, inflicting losses to livestock and property.

Walls and roofs collapsed killing two minors in Lady Sarak Charsadda Road. Similarly, a child, identified as Sher Ali, was killed in Naugaman, Daudzai.

Three bodies were also brought to a hospital in Takht Bhai, Shergarh where an emergency was declared. They were identified as Hikmat Khan, a resident of Qudratabad, Saleh Gul, a resident of Moi Bhanda and a minor girl whose identity could not be ascertained.

A house on Harichand Road collapsed on three passenger vans, injuring 30 people. The wounded were taken to the tehsil Headquarters Hospital. In Hathian, a house collapsed injuring two teenagers and a wall fell on a car in Maikh Kohi injuring three others.

A woman was killed and a minor was injured when a wall collapsed storms in Risalpur, Nowshera.

Chaman was on her way home with her granddaughter when a wall fell as a result of heavy winds.

In Shabqadar, heavy downpour killed two persons in separate incidents in Mian Kallay and Rawal Kor.

According to an official of the agency’s political administration, Ahmad Ali was sitting against a wall in an attempt to shield himself from the storm when the wall collapsed, killing him on the spot.

Twelve-year-old Amreen was killed when a wall in Panjigram Village, Mingora, collapsed. In Amankot, seven people were injured where another wall fell while three others were injured in Shagai, Qambar and in Gogdara.

A teenager was killed while another sustained severe injuries after a wall collapsed in Yadgar Mohallah, the capital city of Gilgit. “Two boys, between the ages of 14 and 16, were playing when the roof collapsed due to the storm,” said Maysoor, a resident. One of them died on the spot while the condition of the other is critical, he added.

In Lower Dir, a house in Qadafi Village collapsed. Muhammad Shoaib was severely injured as a result and seven buffaloes tied near one of the walls of the house were killed.

In Katlang, four houses turned to ash when fire erupted due to storms in the area. However, no loss was reported. Three people were killed in Peshawar, three in Shergarh, one in Risalpur, two in Shabqadar, one in Mingora and one in Gilgit.

Six people were killed in Charsadda as a result of the harsh weather. Alamzeb was killed in Daryab Korona, Ali was killed in Umerzai Sabir when a tree fell on him, in Sheikhan Bari a wall fell causing the death of a minor and injured two others.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Met Office Director in Peshawar Mushtaq AlI Shah said the dust storm continued for an hour. “The temperature has dropped to 24 degrees Celsius in Peshawar,” he added.

Indus Highway remains blocked on third day

The main Indus Highway remained blocked for the third day leaving hundreds stranded in vehicles after landslides near Speena Morh on Thursday.

Muhammad Ghani, an official of the Bhanda Daud Shah police, said they had informed the district government and National Highway Authority to clear the highway but no one had showed up. On Sunday morning, he and residents of the area gathered to clear a side of the road to allow vehicles to pass.

Difficult conditions in twin cities

Dust storm and gusty winds hit the twin cities on Sunday evening. Strong winds created a dust storm which made conditions difficult for motorists on city roads.

The Met Office said that a shallow westerly trough was expected to affect upper parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining areas from Monday.

It said that further gusty winds were expected in Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the next 24 hours.

The weather will remain hot and dry in most parts of country during the next 24 hours, the Met office said.

The maximum recorded temperature in Islamabad was 39° Celsius, while in Rawalpindi it was 40° Celsius.

Depression Over West Bengal

 

 

The depression over coastal West Bengal and neighbourhood moved westwards and lay centered at 0830 IST of today the 30thth May, 2013 near latitude 22.30N and longitude 87.50E, about 30 km southeast of Midnapore. The system would move west-northwestwards and weaken gradually into a low pressure area during next 24 hours.

Pre-monsoon rains inundate India

The pre-monsoon heat is now building rapidly across South Asia ahead of the pending summer rains. As those temperatures continue to creep up we are now seeing our first wave of floods developing over parts of the region.

The hottest weather so far has been recorded over the central and northern Plains of India. Temperatures here are around five degrees above average. On Sunday a high of 46.3 Celsius was recorded at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.

Conversely, temperatures are below average in northeastern India, with highs around eight degrees below average over West Bengal and Sikkim. That is because these parts of India along with much of Bangladesh have been shrouded by thunder clouds recently.

Days of incessant, heavy rainfall have swollen the Brahmaputra River flooding parts of the Majuli river island in Jorhat, which is Assam state’s second largest city. Floodwaters have breached a dyke here and submerged 350 hectares of farmland in the process.

These floods have come earlier than in the past few years and there has already been a loss of crops as the waters continue to rise. On Sunday, the heaviest rainfall recorded was in Agartala, the capital of the state of Tripura and second largest city in North-east India after Guwahati.

In Agartala we saw 89mm of rain in 24 hours. The city lies on the bank of Haora River and is located 2 km from Bangladesh. Further south, on the other side of the Ganges, Cox’s Bazar had 72mm of rain.

The offending area of low pressure responsible for the rain looks set to stay in place for much of this coming week. Further flooding looks inevitable.

The pre-monsoon heat is now building rapidly across South Asia ahead of the pending summer rains. As those temperatures continue to creep up we are now seeing our first wave of floods developing over parts of the region.

The hottest weather so far has been recorded over the central and northern Plains of India. Temperatures here are around five degrees above average. very a high temperature  of 49.3 Celsius was recorded at AndhraPardesh.

Conversely, temperatures are below average in northeastern India, with highs around eight degrees below average over West Bengal and Sikkim. That is because these parts of India along with much of Bangladesh have been shrouded by thunder clouds recently.

Days of incessant, heavy rainfall have swollen the Brahmaputra River flooding parts of the Majuli river island in Jorhat, which is Assam state’s second largest city. Floodwaters have breached a dyke here and submerged 350 hectares of farmland in the process.

These floods have come earlier than in the past few years and there has already been a loss of crops as the waters continue to rise. On Sunday, the heaviest rainfall recorded was in Agartala, the capital of the state of Tripura and second largest city in North-east India after Guwahati.

In Agartala we saw 89mm of rain in 24 hours. The city lies on the bank of Haora River and is located 2 km from Bangladesh. Further south, on the other side of the Ganges, Cox’s Bazar had 72mm of rain.

The offending area of low pressure responsible for the rain looks set to stay in place for much of this coming week. Further flooding looks inevitable.

Heat wave continues across India, 524 dead in Andhra Pradesh

There will be no repsite from the intense heat wave today, says Met office, as temperatures remained above normal in most parts of the country on Tuesday.

According to the Andhra Pradesh’s Department of Disaster Management, 524 people have died of sunstroke since April 1 across the state.

After a cloudy and windy Monday, it was back to being scorching hot in the national capital yesterday as the maximum temperature settled three notches above average at 43 degrees Celsius. The Met office has forecast similar weather today.

“The heat wave will continue tomorrow (Wednesday) the skies will be sunny,” an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 43 and 28 degrees respectively. Tuesday’s minimum temperature was 29 degrees Celsius, two notches above average for this time of the season.

Monday’s maximum temperature in Delhi was 42.6 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal, while the minimum settled at 30.2 degrees Celsius, three notches above average.

Heat wave conditions continued to prevail in the desert state of Rajasthan with the mercury hovering between 40 to 45 degrees celsius.

Churu at 45.2 degrees Celsius was the hottest in the state. Sri Ganganagar was close at 44.4 degrees celsius.

State capital Jaipur was scorching at 41.9 degrees and the minimum temperature was at 32.4 degrees Celsius, almost five degrees above normal. Bikaner was also hot at 41.9 degrees Celsius.

The intense heat condition continued in Uttar Pradesh with the mercury soaring to 45 degrees Celsius in some parts of the state.

Most people stayed indoors as humidity and long hours of power outages and cuts added to people’s woes.

Etawah remained the hottest place in Uttar Pradesh at 46.2 degrees Celsius, four degrees above the normal temperature for this time of the season. Banda recorded 45.2 degrees Celsius, Hamirpur 45.2 degrees, Agra 43.3 degrees, and Allahabad 45.5 degrees, making these the hottest cities in the state.

The temperature in Lucknow hovered around 44 degrees Celsius, a meteorological department official told IANS.

There was no likelihood of any respite from the heat nor any chances of rain in Uttar Pradesh, the official added.

Rainfall in parts of Andhra Pradesh provided much-needed relief to people from the intense heat that has kept the southern plateau sizzling for weeks and claimed over 500 lives.

Several parts of Srikakulam district in north coastal Andhra Pradesh and some parts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Guntur and other districts of south coastal Andhra received rains yesterday.

The sky remained cloudy in most parts of Telangana and Rayalaseema regions, officials said. Rains or thundershowers are likely in a few places in the state during the next 24 hours