KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Normalcy began slowly returning to Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi on Saturday after flood waters from days of monsoon rains that killed 47 people receded, enabling relief work in the city of 15 million.

Amid a pause in the rain, soldiers and civil authorities intensified efforts to reach people who were stranded. The heavy rains hit the southern port city Aug. 23, forcing people to evacuate to other areas of Karachi.

Most of the city was flooded by rains that continued until Friday. It downed power lines, causing widespread outages leaving large numbers of people without electricity and mobile phone service.

According to a military statement, relief and rescue efforts were in full swing in flood-hit areas and engineers cleared the city’s key roads of water with pumps. It said food was being supplied to rain-affected people at their homes in Karachi.

Every year, many cities in Pakistan struggle to cope with the annual monsoon deluge, drawing criticism of the government’s lack of planning. The monsoon season runs from July through September.

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