Floods Threaten To Knock Out Power Grid Station Serving Millions in Pakistan

Grid Station Dadu, a 500-kilovolt power transmission station supplying electricity to millions in Pakistan, is in danger of going offline due to flooding caused by a record amount of rain during this year’s monsoon season. The threat is so serious that local officials are considering building a dike in front of the transmission station in southeastern Pakistan, Reuters reported on Monday. The station transmits power to six provincial districts. On Sunday, authorities in southern Pakistan announced a plan to breach the country’s Indus Highway, to allow water to flow and prevent flooding in Dadu, located in the southern province of Sindh, with a population of 1.5 million. More than 200 inmates from Dadu jail also have been relocated due to the floods. Sindh, with 50 million residents, has had 466% more rain than the 30-year average this year. Nearly 2,000 people, including over 450 children, have died in Pakistan in this year’s monsoon season. Some 33 million Pakistanis have been affected by the flooding in the north and south of the country.