MONSOON havoc has yet again brought death and suffering to Karachi, with Tuesday’s ‘unprecedented’ downpour paralysing life in this unfortunate city.

Rain-related disasters have been witnessed elsewhere in Pakistan as well, particularly KP and GB, with hundreds of deaths reported in the former. But Karachi’s issues of urban flooding are unique in many ways, exacerbated by bad planning and unchecked growth. The mayor has attributed the disaster to ‘climate change’.

While the latter phenomenon has indeed contributed to erratic weather patterns, global warming alone is not the key culprit responsible for Karachi’s rain-related plight — by now, a grim annual spectacle — as soon as the monsoon clouds arrive.

Flooded streets, people trapped on roads for hours and lack of electricity for long periods during stifling weather conditions were some of the outcomes of Tuesday’s wet spell. Indeed, many parts of the city received a high volume of precipitation, but even less intense rain spells have previously brought the wheels of urban life to a grinding halt.

Disturbing visuals of motorists and bikers trapped on thoroughfares resembling raging torrents, and water entering houses and apartment blocks show that something is seriously wrong with Karachi’s drainage system. And the fixes applied to the problem do not seem to be working.

For example, a drainage system, reportedly costing hundreds of millions of rupees, was installed in the upmarket DHA area, but failed to stop flooding in the neighbourhood. DHA is controlled by a cantonment board, beyond the jurisdiction of civilian agencies. People living in low-income, low-lying areas were similarly affected.

From the august Supreme Court and independent urban experts to people venting their rage on social media — all have expressed their dismay over the fact that Karachi lacks a proper drainage system, and that the monsoon-related destruction is repeated year after year.

The fact is that the problem has been decades in the making, and it would be unfair to blame the present government alone. Successive administrations have neglected Karachi or paid lip service to its civic issues, as encroachers and land grabbers have steadily disfigured its face. Karachi’s urban issues, including the faulty drainage, are complex, and decades of neglect cannot be undone in weeks or months.

But a start must be made somewhere and the key problems of the city, primarily solid waste disposal, provision of water, a working sewerage system, fair land management, etc, which are all intertwined, must be addressed by the city’s managers and independent experts.

Moreover, a better LG system, which responds to local issues promptly and is answerable to the people, is essential to resolve Karachi’s civic woes, as multiple agencies controlling land in the city also complicates civic governance.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2025