Vehicles go for a swim as heavy rains flood Karachi streets

A spell of heavy rainfall over the past few days have resulted in many key roads in Pakistan's Karachi completely flooded. This has made driving from one point to another in the city a nightmare for motorists with photos of vehicles wading through almost bonnet-level waters doing the rounds on social media.

While locals in the city welcomed the incessant rainfall with a sense of relief as it provided relief from the searing heat, motorists were clearly unimpressed with the civic apathy amply clear from the flooded roads. Streets disappeared under stagnant rain water and local reports highlighted how several vehicles were left stranded as water gushed into the engine bay and the cabin.

Massive traffic snarls were the other consequence of the flooded streets with some areas in the city reportedly witnessing jams stretching for kilometres. And while officials claimed that maximum number of emergency personnel had been deployed on the streets to rescue those stranded and to ensure traffic woes were sorted, the ground-level reality begged to differ.

Spent 5 hours on Shara e Faisal trapped in my car... feel so sorry for Karachi who hasn't have a drainage system in 72 years...#karachirain

— Shafaat Ali (@iamshafaatali) July 17, 2020

Monsoon rains in the subcontinent often result in city streets getting completely flooded with a number of factors - from clogged drains to narrow roads - being blamed. Vehicles and pedestrians bear the brunt of it, time and again.