Rawalpindi ve İslamabad’da Şiddetli Yağışlar Alçak Bölgeleri Sular Altında Bıraktı

Heavy rain floods low-lying areas, roads in Rawalpindi, Islamabad

(Clockwise from top) Rescue 1122 personnel remain on standby with a rescue boat at Gawalmandi Bridge as the water level in Leh Nullah rises; motorcyclists navigate a flooded road in Rawalpindi; CDA workers clear a drain along Srinagar Highway in Islamabad to ensure the smooth flow of rainwater while people wade through floodwater that inundated several houses in Pindigheb town in Attock district, on Friday. — Photos by Mohammad Asim, Amjad Iqbal & APP Depts on alert as water level in Leh Nullah rises to 10ft Rainwater accumulates on main road in Bhara Kahu Met Office forecasts more rains RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: Heavy rain lashed the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Friday, inundating low-lying areas and main roads. The district administration of Rawalpindi was put on alert after the water level in Leh Nullah rose to 10 feet. The rain started early in the morning and continued till the afternoon. The residents of low-lying areas in Rawalpindi remained busy till the evening, draining out water from their houses. The day was overcast and the showers brought the mercury down to 28 degrees Celsius. The Leh Nullah rose to nine feet at Gawalmandi bridge and 10 feet at Kattarian bridge. The situation remained at the pre-alert stage, as the danger level starts at 22 feet and the nullah spills over at 30 feet. However, teams from the local administration, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Rescue 1122, Civil Defence and health departments arrived at the nullah to monitor the situation as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) defined by the Punjab government. The Meteorological Department recorded 103 millimetres of rain at Kutchery Chowk, 73mm at Shamsabad, 62mm at Pirwadhai, 59mm at New Kattarian, 43mm at Gawalmandi in Rawalpindi; 68mm at Saidpur, 52mm at Golra, 65mm at Zero Point, 42mm at Bokra and 36mm at the Islamabad International Airport in Islamabad and 99mm in Murree. It forecasted more rain in the next 48 hours. A Met official said that a depression lies over south Madhya Pradesh (India) and is likely to move west-northwestward during the next 24 hours. “Under the influence of this deep depression, monsoon currents are continuously penetrating the eastern and central parts of Pakistan,” he said. The official said that rain-wind/thundershowers (with isolated heavy fall at times very heavy fall) were expected in Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh and northeastern Balochistan. The Met Office predicted more rains till August 5 and issued an alert of urban flooding and landsliding. It stated that heavy rains may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Potohar region, Peshawar, Nowshera, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Sindh (Tharparkar, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Sanghar, Khairpur, Mithi, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Tando Mohammad Khan and Tando Allahyar). Meanwhile, it was another day that exposed the performance of the CDA in Islamabad, cantonment administration and the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) in Rawalpindi in dealing with the flood-like situation. In Bhara Kahu, two feet of water accumulated on the main road, leaving many vehicles stranded, while motorcyclists faced difficulties in travelling. “Rainwater accumulated on the main Murree Road and entered my house. We made announcements in the area urging residents to keep children inside,” said Mohammad Akram Abbasi, a resident of Bhara Kahu. Many roads in Rawalpindi, especially Murree Road, Kutchery Chowk, Peshawar Road, Tench Bhatta, Jamia Masjid Road, Hamilton Road, Ratta Amral, Kashmir Road, Rawal Road and other arteries were inundated with rainwater. The water also entered houses in low-lying areas. Traffic gridlock was witnessed at Ammar Chowk in front of Jhanda Chichi, Pearl Continental Hotel, RCB office on The Mall and other areas of the cantonment. Many roads dug up by Wasa such as Saidpur Road, Ganjmandi, Asghar Mall Road and Farooq-i-Azam Road added to the problems of commuters. Moreover, electricity supply remained disrupted in the garrison city. However, the supply was restored in many areas in the afternoon. Iesco officials claimed that the power supply was suspended as a safety measure. Wasa officials said heavy machinery was used to drain out water from Murree Road, Jamia Masjid Road, Sadiqabad areas, Katarian and Zafarul Haq Road. Taxila Torrential rains caused widespread devastation in various localities of Pindigheb town in Attock, leaving dozens of houses and shops damaged or collapsed, inundating houses and businesses, and trapping scores of residents on rooftops as floodwater continued to rise. Floodwaters spread rapidly through low-lying localities after small fish dams overflowed after heavy downpours early on Friday, forcing residents to abandon their homes in Kamrial, Gundakass and Malohwala and adjacent areas. Several houses and shops reportedly developed structural cracks before partially or completely collapsing under the pressure of accumulated water. “We watched helplessly as dirty rainwater swept through our shop and ruined almost everything,” said Mohammad Aslam, a grocery store owner. “Food items, flour bags, pulses, beverages and other grocery products have been destroyed. We have suffered losses running into hundreds of thousands of rupees,” another trader, Rashid Mehmood, who owns a bakery, said. “All bakery products, including bread, cakes, biscuits, rusks, confectionery and other perishable items, have been spoiled after rainwater entered the shop. Refrigerators, display counters and electrical equipment have also been damaged,” he said. “Our house is full of water. Furniture, bedding, household appliances, clothes and important documents have all been damaged,” said Shazia Bibi. Another resident, Abdul Qadeer, said continuous accumulation of water in houses had made the structures unsafe. “We fear the walls may collapse at any time,” he said. Deputy Commissioner Attock Dr Mudassar Ahmad Shah visited Pindigheb to assess the situation after water overflowing a small dam inundated several low-lying areas. He reviewed ongoing rescue and relief operations and was briefed about the extent of flooding, the flow of water, affected population and the measures being undertaken by various departments. Meanwhile, district emergency officer Dr Ishfaq Mian said Rescue 1122 Attock launched an emergency response after receiving information that the Malahwala Ganda Kass small dam had overflowed and its embankments breached. — Amjad Iqbal from Taxila also contributed to the story Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2026