President Arif Alvi on Wednesday said that he is ready with his boats to rescue the citizens of Islamabad if needed, following the severe floods in several areas of Islamabad after torrential rains yesterday.
A cloudburst in Islamabad had caused heavy flooding in sector E-11, confirmed Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Muhammed Hamza Shafqat.
“Cloudburst in Islamabad has caused flooding in various areas. Teams are clearing nullahs/roads. Hopefully, we will be able to clear everything in an hour,” the Commissioner tweeted.
Islamabad is my city just like Karachi and all other lovely cities of Pakistan.
I am confident that Islamabad's administration are doing their job well but if need be, I am ready with my boat 🙂 pic.twitter.com/whOskBKsNf— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) July 28, 2021
Meanwhile, residents of the areas flooded Twitter with videos of the devastation caused by the flash floods. In the videos, several cars can be seen floating away with the water.
According to unofficial reports, a woman and her child died. A wall collapsed over them due to the gushing water. The cloudburst also flooded basements of some houses in Islamabad’s E-11.
Read more: Cloudburst triggers flash floods in Islamabad’s sector E-11
Police officials said flooding in sector E-11 was due to the “poor performance of society management” of private housing schemes, adding that there was no equipment available to deal with the situation.
Meanwhile, Twitter users came up with the old photos of President Arif Alvi carrying out rescue operations in one of the areas of Karachi a few years back before becoming the president of the country. He could be seen riding rescue boats in the flooded water to save people stuck in the residential areas of Karachi.
https://twitter.com/hussain4270/status/1420350141626830848?s=20
https://twitter.com/Sadiajavedppp/status/1420303625822277633?s=20
Commenting on these pictures, some netizens suggested that when the capital administration has failed to protect the citizens, perhaps President Alvi should come out with his boats to rescue people.
Read more: Tourists throng Kaghan, Swat valley despite surge in COVID-19 cases
Addressing these memes, President Alvi said that Islamabad is also his city like Karachi and he is ready to come out with his boats to help people. He, however, expressed confidence in the administration of Islamabad that they are doing their best to facilitate the residents.