The urban flooding in Karachi has shattered the city and many colonies and slums have been swept away by the rain leaving scores homeless with no basic necessities of life.
The Current has listed a few organisations that are working to help flood victims in the port city.
Website: https://edhi.org/
Website: https://alkhidmat.org/
Website: http://jdcwelfare.org/index.html
As this year’s spell of monsoon rains wreaks havoc in Karachi, flooded roads and houses, clogged drains and power outages have been disrupting Karachiites’ routine for the past few days.
Amid all this, the city’s residents found themselves in added misery as there is also hours-long power outages. Most of them have taken to Twitter to share the current situation of the city and express their outrage over the situation. K-electric has said that “power will be restored as soon as it is safe to do”.
Actor Ushna Shah also tweeted: “Excuses excuses guys. No flooding in Phase 6 and no power since almost 20 hours now.” She added that DM (direct message) is also of no use.
Other Twitter users had similar woes.
Later, K-Electric said that “several areas remain inaccessible due to high water level” and that “power will continue to remain closed until all standing water is cleared”.
With lockdowns being lifted and offices besides all public spaces except wedding halls and educational institutions being re-opened, the threat of a sudden spike in coronavirus infections, despite the continuous drop, has once again risen its ugly head.
While many people are taking necessary precautions, some are not, owing to which all of us have found ourselves assessing our surroundings and avoiding the virus as much as possible.
Many amid the prevailing situation, among other things are wondering if one can get COVID-19 from secondhand smoke?
Here’s what we know…
Secondhand smoke isn’t believed to directly spread the virus, experts say, but infected smokers may blow droplets carrying the virus when they exhale.
Being able to smell the smoke might be a red flag that you’re standing too close to the smoker. The respiratory droplets people spray when they talk, cough or sneeze are believed to be the main way the virus spreads. And people also exhale those droplets when smoking, as well as when they’re vaping.
“Not only are they potentially spreading the virus by not wearing a mask, they are blowing those droplets to the people around them to potentially get infected,” says Dr Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association.
You should steer clear of secondhand smoke regardless. Breathing in secondhand smoke from cigarettes can cause various health problems, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By the time this report was filed, the number of coronavirus infections in Pakistan stood at 294,668 with 279,630 recoveries and 6,275 deaths. Sindh continued to have the lead with 128,877 cases with Punjab trailing at 96,540 infections, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Islamabad with 35,923 and 15,562 cases, respectively.
The number of infections in Balochistan stood at 12,721 while Gilgit-Baltistan had 2,773 cases and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) had 2,272.
Heavy rain pounded in Karachi for hours today (Thursday), flooding roads and underpasses and creating chaos in the port city.
According to the Met Office, Karachi experienced record torrential rains this year and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has declared an emergency across the province while roof-collapse, electrocution and drowning incidents make headlines. Power outages are also spelling misery for residents of the city.
Many people took to social media to show the current situation in the port city.
Read more – Sindh Wildlife Department clarifies no crocodiles escaped from Mangho Pir shrine
Virgin Atlantic airline is all set to operate flights between the UK and Pakistan from December this year. According to details, it will launch three new routes: London Heathrow to Lahore; London Heathrow to Islamabad; and Manchester to Islamabad. Flights will go on sale in September.
In a statement, Virgin’s chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen said: “Pakistan is an extremely exciting opportunity for us – it boasts one of the largest foreign-born populations in both the UK and the US and, as people start to travel to visit loved ones, we’re anticipating the demand to visit friends and relatives will increase post-COVID-19.”
“Both Lahore and Islamabad are popular year-round destinations and we look forward to welcoming travellers onboard as demand for leisure and business travel gradually increases to the region,” he added.
The carrier said that the services would offer “seamless, speedy connections and a consistent long-haul onboard experience for customers travelling from destinations throughout North America, including New York JFK, Los Angeles, Washington, Boston and San Francisco via London Heathrow onwards to Pakistan”.
“We also see a significant opportunity to increase competition in the US – Pakistan market. Using the strength of our transatlantic services we’re able to offer customers the shortest journey to and from destinations in the US such as New York, Los Angeles and Washington by connecting through London Heathrow”.
Welcoming the announcement, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner in a tweet said, “Another sign of #UKPakDosti- Welcome to Pakistan Virgin Atlantic.”
It is pertinent to mention here that British Airways is currently operating five flights a week between London and Islamabad. On Wednesday, it was reported that the airline is also seeking permission from Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to start operating flights to Lahore, as a team of experts from the airline visited Allama Iqbal International Airport earlier this week to review arrangements made by the airport management.
Three sisters from Lahore are driving rickshaws to earn a living after being affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to reports, Nasreen Bibi, Saima Khatun, and Shahnaz Bibi started their work after buying rickshaws in installments. Speaking to Independent Urdu, Nasreen said: “I am the only breadwinner of my family. My children are young, and I have no one to support me financially.”
Nasreen said that one of her sister’s husband had died, and the other sister’s husband is unwell, so the siblings decided to go out and earn a living through rickshaw rides.
“I first learned how to drive a rickshaw and then bought one in monthly installments of Rs 5,000 ” said Nasreen.
The sisters thought of providing rickshaw rides when the lockdown was lifted.
“We had no income. I started driving a rickshaw so I would be able to earn money and educate my children,” Saima shared.
Social Activist Faisal Edhi, the son of late Abdul Sattar Edhi was rescued by a fisherman after a boat carrying him and five others capsized into deep water during a rescue operation.
According to reports, Edhi was going to rescue eight missing persons on the request of their families when the boat overturned. Edhi and Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) MPA Raja Azhar were on the same boat.
All officials were rescued by a nearby fishing boat and Edhi and other vIctims were taken to the Ibrahim Haideri jetty.
Recounting the experiences, Edhi said: “We were a total of six people and were wearing life jackets that helped us swim towards our boat. We held onto its rope and when we saw a fishing boat pass by, we called the fishermen for help.”
“They rescued us,” shared the philanthropist.
Karachi experienced record torrential rains this year, wreaking havoc on the city’s infrastructure and drainage system. According to the Met Office, Tuesday’s rainfall broke a 90-year record with 345mm of rain recorded at Karachi’s PAF Faisal Base.
Read more – Sindh Wildlife Department clarifies no crocodiles escaped from Mangho Pir shrine
Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah has declared an emergency across the province while roof-collapse, electrocution and drowning incidents make headlines.
In Karachi, Malir, Korangi, Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Saadi Town, Liaquatabad, Federal B Area, North Karachi, Surjani Town and North Nazimabad are some of the areas that are underwater after receiving heavy rainfall since Monday night.
Power outages are also spelling misery for the people of the country’s largest city.
Claim: Viral video showed that in Karachi, a man jumped into accumulated rainwater from the rooftop of his building
Fact: Video was taken from an Indian Youtube channel and was published two days earlier
With rain wreaking havoc across Sindh and flooding roads across provincial capital Karachi yet again, a viral video has shown a man jumping into rainwater from a rooftop, which according to The Current’s verification, is not from Karachi.
As per the details, the video showing a man jumping from the rooftop of a residential building into accumulated rainwater first surfaced on Sunday evening. It wasn’t later that it broke the internet by Monday afternoon as it was widely shared by people claiming it to be a scene from Karachi.
However, going the extra mile to dig out facts regarding the video, The Current ascertained that it was actually a video from the Indian city of Mumbai, and was uploaded to an Indian YouTube channel two days ago, on August 23.
WATCH VIDEO:
https://twitter.com/ToxicTruths83/status/1298295506569965568
While the said video is not from Karachi, the port city is still submerged owing to lack of proper monsoon infrastructure there.
Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah has declared an emergency across the province while roof-collapse, electrocution and drowning incidents make headlines.
In Karachi, Malir, Korangi, Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Saadi Town, Liaquatabad, Federal B Area, North Karachi, Surjani Town and North Nazimabad are some of the areas that are underwater after receiving heavy rainfall since Monday night.
Power outages are also spelling misery for the people of the country’s largest city.
VERDICT: FALSE
KFC has announced it will be suspending its slogan “It’s Finger Lickin’ Good” due to coronavirus. The food chain has used the slogan for more than six decades but is now skipping it because of the pandemic.
The fastfood chain, in a statement, on Monday said that it would not be using the slogan for the first time in 64 years because it “doesn’t quite feel right”.
“We find ourselves in a unique situation – having an iconic slogan that doesn’t quite fit in the current environment,” Catherine Tan-Gillespie, global chief marketing officer at KFC said.
The menu isn’t changing and the company said the slogan will return when the “time is right.”
The decision comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised people not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth amid the pandemic.
In a YouTube video posted on the company’s UK and Ireland account, KFC blurred ‘finger lickin’ on old billboards and buckets of chicken after the announcement.
“That thing we always say? Ignore it. For now,” the video reads.
The Sindh Wildlife Department has clarified that no crocodiles have escaped from the shrine of Mangho Pir and the pictures being circulated on social media are fake.
The department shared a video of the areas where the crocodiles were reportedly seen and of the Manghopir Shrine where the crocodiles live. Officials of the Sindh Wildlife Department said that after doing a survey of the area, they concluded that no crocodile escaped the shrine during the rains.
Officials present at the shrine further said that the crocodiles cannot escape the enclosures as the cages are high, adding that CCTV cameras have also been installed to keep a check on everything happening at the shrine.
News of crocodiles on the loose in the Karachi began to do the rounds on social media after rain water flooded the streets of Karachi. PTI MNA Aamir Liaquat also shared a picture of a crocodile and asked residents of Surjani Town, Khuda Ki Basti and Nayi Karachi to be careful.
Some social media users have claimed that the picture is from Philippines. The Current could not independently verify this claim.
According to a report published in 2018, the Mangho Pir shrine is home to over 100 crocodiles that waddle between the devotees near a swampy green pond where they have lived for generations.
Meanwhile, heavy rain has inundated Karachi and lack of proper infrastructure has submerged half the city.