Karachi Mayor declares rain emergency in hospitals

KARACHI: Following the recent downpour in the metropolis, Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar on Wednesday declared rain emergency in all the public hospitals in the city to deal with any emergency, ARY News reported.

Talking to journalists, Waseem Akhtar said that leaves of all the medical and paramedical staff had been cancelled and they were directed to remain alert at their duties. He said that staff of municipal services and works department was deployed in the field.

Criticizing the poor arrangements of K-Electric, the mayor urged people to adopt necessary precautionary measures to avoid any untoward incident. He advised the people to maintain a distance from power infrastructure including poles, transformers, downed power lines, low-hanging power lines and trees that have fallen on power lines.

Earlier in the day, downpour with gusty winds had badly disrupted flight schedule at Jinnah International Airport.

According to the sources, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority had diverted many flights to other cities owing to heavy rain in Karachi.

Islamabad to Karachi bound flight PK-309 was diverted to Lahore, the sources had said and added that another flight PK-311, en route to Karachi, was directed to go back to Quetta.