While the arrival of the monsoon rains have provided much needed relief from excruciating temperatures, citizens of Karachi are dreading the rainfall as they are still reeling from the trauma of last summer. Electricity supply was disrupted in most parts of the city after the very first monsoon showers hit on Monday. More concerning however is the fact that a young boy lost his life by electrocution because of the rainwater that had accumulated on the street.

Apparently, there was some miscommunication between the Sindh authorities and the Met department over rain forecasts, with the former claiming that the latter had not predicted any rainfall for Monday. Engaging in a blame game however is not going to provide any relief to the citizens and the bottom line is that there needs to be better coordination between such authorities.

Rain emergency has been declared in some parts of the city, while in other areas operations are ongoing to clear stormwater drains. It is commendable that the Municipal Commissioner is now taking measures to deal with any emergency and to avoid possible damage from rainfall, however the issue of reactive policy making remains. These measures should have been in place much earlier considering how monsoon warnings were given in advance.

It is crucial for the authorities to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place to avoid a repeat of what happened last year. Torrential rainfall during the previous cycle paralysed life in the city and claimed more than 20 lives across the province. With the effects of climate change becoming more apparent by the day, Pakistan needs to undertake long term measures to adapt going forward. The poor state of infrastructure in urban centers like Karachi and the complete lack of it in rural areas will need to be addressed urgently if future catastrophes are to be avoided.