RAWALPINDI: Heavy rains that lashed the city on Tuesday turned main roads and streets into rivulets, creating hardships for residents of low-lying areas.
The rain also exposed the poor sanitation system in Raja Bazaar, particularly around the Rawalpindi Tehsil office, where knee-deep water accumulated and brought the land registration system to a halt. Water also accumulated in many other areas.
The rain started at 5:40am and continued until 11am with occasional gaps, while the sun emerged in the afternoon. It caught school, college and university students unprepared, and they reached their institutions while crossing waterlogged roads.
The main GT Road from DHA Phase-II to Soan Bridge and PWD Road from the Expressway to Media Town turned into small ponds, while commuters on Peshawar Road, where construction work on underpasses was under way, faced hardships.
The Met Office recorded 52 millimetres of rain at Bokra, 44mm at Golra, 28mm at the airport, 25mm at Zero Point and 23mm at Saidpur in Islamabad, while 44mm was recorded at New Kattarian, 42mm at Pirwadhai, 41mm at Shamsabad, 30mm at Chaklala Airport and 27mm at Kutchery in Rawalpindi.
The Met Office forecast more rain in Rawalpindi and Islamabad during the next 24 to 36 hours.
A Met official said the low-pressure system over east Gujarat, India, on Monday had moved westwards and on Tuesday lay over west Gujarat, India, and adjoining southeast Sindh. It was expected to weaken and become insignificant during the next 24 hours. A westerly wave was also affecting the upper and central parts of the country.
He said more rain, wind and thundershowers were likely in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, Punjab, Islamabad and northeast Balochistan. “Heavyfalls/hailstorm is also expected at isolated places during the period. Partly cloudy weather is expected in other plain areas of the country,” he said.
The Met Office warned that heavy rains might cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Lahore.
Heavy rains might also generate flash floods in local streams and nullahs in Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Battagram, Buner, Malakand, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, Murree, Galiyat and Islamabad-Rawalpindi, as well as hill torrents in DG Khan.
Landslides might occur in hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galiyat and Kashmir during the forecast period.
Residents expressed concern over the state of affairs in the city and cantonment areas. They said the sanitation system in Rawalpindi had collapsed during the recent monsoon season and civic bodies had failed to clean nullahs and drains before the monsoon.
The rain threw normal life out of gear due to the choked sewerage system. Downtown localities of Rawalpindi were flooded with around one foot of water, creating problems for residents. People had a tough time draining water from many parts of the city.
There were also reports that traffic signals on several city roads went out of order, while traffic remained choked at Moti Mehal Chowk, Naz Cinema Chowk, Chandani Chowk, Ammar Chowk, Kuri Road, Shamsabad and 6th Road Chowk on Murree Road.
During the rain, motorists and pedestrians faced great hardships in reaching their destinations due to traffic jams on inundated roads. Many cars and motorcycles were seen stranded in rainwater.
Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2026
