100,000 evacuated as cyclone Biparjoy threatens India and Pakistan
Govt on high alert as Keti Bandar braces,
Sherry Rehman says 62,000 people had been evacuated from country’s southeastern coastline,
Islamabad/Karachi(AFP/Webdesk /Staff Reporter)_More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from the path of a fierce cyclone heading towards India and Pakistan, with forecasters warning Wednesday it could devastate homes and tear down power lines.
Biparjoy, meaning “disaster” in Bengali, is making its way across the Arabian Sea and is expected to make landfall as a “very severe cyclonic storm” on Thursday evening, government weather monitors said.
Powerful winds, storm surges and lashing rains were forecast to hammer a 325-kilometre (200-mile) stretch of coast between Mandvi in India’s Gujarat state and Karachi in Pakistan.
India’s Meteorological Department predicted the storm will hit near the Indian port of Jakhau late Thursday, warning of “total destruction” of traditional mud and straw thatched homes.
At sea, winds were already gusting at speeds up to 180 kilometres per hour (112 miles per hour), forecasters said.
By the time it makes landfall wind speeds are predicted to reach 125-135 kilometres per hour, with gusts up to 150 kilometres per hour.
“Over 47,000 people have been evacuated from coastal and low-lying areas to shelter,” said C.C. Patel, an official in charge of relief operations in Gujarat.
More were expected to be moved inland throughout Wednesday.
Residents evacuate a coastal area of Keti Bandar in Pakistan’s Sindh province Residents evacuate a coastal area of Keti Bandar in Pakistan’s Sindh province © – / AFP India’s meteorologists warned of the potential for “widespread damage”, including destruction of crops, “bending or uprooting of power and communication poles” and disruption of railways and roads.
In the beach town of Mandvi, streets were mostly empty Wednesday with just a few hungry stray dogs roaming abandoned beach shacks, next to large, rolling waves under strong gusts and grey skies.
The Gujarat state government released photos showing lines of residents clutching small bags of belongings and boarding buses inland away from areas predicted to be worst hit.
‘High to phenomenal’
Pakistan’s climate change minister Sherry Rehman said Wednesday that 62,000 people had been evacuated from the country’s southeastern coastline, with 75 relief camps set up at schools and colleges.
She said fishermen had been warned to stay off the water and small aircraft were grounded, while urban flooding was possible in the megacity of Karachi, home to around 20 million people.
“We are following a policy of caution rather than wait and see,” she told reporters in Islamabad. “Our first priority is saving lives.”
The Pakistan Meteorological Department forecast gusts up to 140 kilometres per hour in the southeastern province of Sindh, accompanied by a storm surge reaching 3.5 metres (11.5 feet).
Fishing has also been suspended along the Gujarat coast with conditions expected to escalate from “rough to very rough” on Wednesday to “high to phenomenal”.
“There could be flooding in some low-lying areas and we are prepared to handle that,” Mohsen Shahedi, a senior official from India’s National Disaster Response Force, told reporters.
Five people have already been killed in India including two children who were crushed when a wall collapsed, while a woman was hit by a falling tree when riding a motorbike.
Cyclones – the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific – are a regular and deadly menace on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean, where tens of millions of people live.
The climate minister said the commercial flights operations would be suspended as the cyclone drew closer to the country.
In its latest update, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that cyclone Biparjoy over northeast Arabian Sea has moved nearly northeastward during last six hours and now lies near latitude 22.1°N and longitude 66.9°E at a distance of about 310km south of Karachi, 300km south-southwest Thatta and 240km south-southwest of Keti Bandar.
The cyclone was previously 370km south of Karachi.
“Maximum sustained surface winds are 150-160 Km/hour gusts 180 Km/hour around the system center and sea conditions being phenomenal around the system center with maximum wave height 30 feet,” it added.
The PDM said favourable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 29-30°C, low vertical wind shear and upper-level divergence) are in support to sustain the cyclone strength through the forecast period.
Under the existing upper-level steering winds, the cyclone is likely keep tracking Northeastward and cross between Keti Bandar (southeast Sindh) and Indian Gujarat coast on June 15 (Thursday) evening with packing winds of 100-120km per hour and gusting 140km per hour. “[The] PMD’s cyclone warning centre, Karachi is continuously monitoring the system and will issue update accordingly,” it added.
Earlier today, Climate Change Minster Rehman told the National Assembly today that the government is ensuring effective monitoring of tropical cyclone Biparjoy — which is moving steadily toward the Pakistan and Indian coastlines.
“All tracking institutions of Pakistan including PMD and Suparco are working round the clock with international satellites, especially of Bangkok, as it is inching towards Pakistan and India’s coastline with intensity,” Rehman said.
The climate minister’s remarks came during a briefing to the lower house on the cyclone’s movement and the precautionary measures taken by the government.
She further said the cyclone could affect the coastal areas of Karachi with landfalls and gusty winds and was going away from Balochistan.
Biparjoy’s “intense” landfall is expected to hit Keti Bandar.
“Currently, it is moving at around 140-50km/h. Its centre has much speed and density,” she said, adding that the Sindh government had issued advisory timely — following which voluntary and vulnerable areas were being evacuated as per safety measures.
The evacuation was almost complete, she said.
“It’s [cyclone’s] focus is in Sindh; however, parts of Balochistan will also be affected by gusty winds and rains,” the senator said, highlighting that Badin, Thattha, Sajawal and Malir [Karachi] would face the brunt of the storm.
Sherry Rehman said the Sindh government has set up around 75 relief camps and evacuated more than 62,000 people to safer places where clean drinking water, food and medical facilities were available.
The minister urged the people of expected areas where the cyclone was likely to hit to cooperate with the civil administration and follow the “mandatory evacuation” directive.
All necessary arrangements were being made to keep the losses at their lowest, along with ensuring the supply of all essential commodities, including electricity, gas and petroleum products.
She asked the residents to remove solar panels as per safety measures and move to safer places voluntarily, adding the Sindh government had removed the billboards from several places.
The minister advised the public not to panic but take precautionary measures and cooperate with the departments working for their well-being.
Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer with climate change.
