Heavy rainfall in the twin cities on Monday caused flooding in Nulla Leh, in Rawalpindi, which claimed three lives. Rescue officials told Pakistan Today that water in the nullah had risen to as much as 16 feet high and that three people were drowned to death as a result. They added that efforts were still being made to retrieve the dead bodies.
The downpour started on late Sunday night and continued intermittently through out the next day. A water level of 16 feet was reported at Katarian, the entry point of Leh from Islamabad to Rawalpindi while a water level of 12 feet was reported at the Gowalmandi Bridge
CThe high water levels in the nullah at 11:40 am on Monday made city managers put rescue workers on alert as they sent out warnings to locals.Through out the day the rescue authorities; Rescue 1122, Pakistan Army, Rawal Town Administration and the health authorities remained on alert to cope with any emergency. The office of Rawal Town Administration (RTA) had been monitoring the water level in the Leh during the ongoing monsoon and Rescue 1122 Rawalpindi Spokesperson Deeba Ali told Pakistan Today that the water reached the alert level on Monday afternoon, but had decreased by evening the water.
She added that according to anti flood Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) if the water level touches 20 feet then the city manager would have to initiate evacuation procedures. She further said that the city administration was fully prepared to cope with any kind of emergency. Ali also confirmed that two people had drowned.
Rain water was also reported to have entered some houses in Nadeem colony, Javid Colony and other houses near Gowalmandi, however no major loss was reported. The rainwater also gushed out on all major roads of the city as well as low lying areas, disturbing the traffic flow. Traffic virtually came to a standstill because of inundation several areas including RA Bazaar, TPT Headquarter Battalion, 22 Number, Tench Bhatta, Bakra Mandi, Saddar, Peshawar Road, Misrial, FWO Office, Tahli Mohri, Dhoke Seydan, Chakri Road, Sihal, Raja Bazaar, and Jamia Masjid Road.
Meanwhile, the administration of Rawal Dam opened the spillways of the dam after water in the reservoir reached the dead level on Saturday. According to Met office report, Rawalpindi had received 50 to 56 mm rain.
