97% of vulnerable population shifted to safe places: Khi corps commander
Heavy rainfall lashes Sindh coastal belt,
ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said on Thursday Karachi was not going to hit directly by the cyclone Biparjoy.
In a statement, Rehman said that a few days ago, they did not have any idea about the direction of cyclone Biparjoy. She said they kept on monitoring the storm throughout the night. She said heavy falls were expected in the city of Quaid.
The Sindh government, the PDMA and other institutions were ready to deal with any emergency situation. She said 72,000 people had been evacuated so far.
The climate minister said they were trying to provide reliable information to the people about the storm. The process of evacuation from the affected areas lasted four days. She said no decision had been taken regarding halting flights at the Karachi airport.
She said for the last three years, Sindh and Balochistan were facing extreme heat. She appealed to the people not to go to the beach. Apart from this, Rehman also shared the latest information related to the cyclone on social media.
Meanwhile,
In the wake of the threat of Cyclone Biparjoy hitting Thatta’s Keti Bandar and Indian Gujarat’s Kutch area this afternoon, the Pakistan Army has released new statistics of the rescue process in the affected areas.
According to the new data, 97% of the population has been shifted to safe places.
The Karachi corps commander said the Pakistan Army, Rangers, Navy, the NDMA and all civil administrations deserve applause for successfully moving the vulnerable population to safety within the stipulated time.
About 7,000 people have been shifted to 44 relief camps in Badin, Sajawal and Thatta districts.
The corps commander ordered all stakeholders to remain on high alert until the storm passes.
Additional troops are on standby in Malir and Hyderabad.
A spell of heavy rainfall with gusty winds, has lashed Thatta, Makli and adjoining areas under the influence of Cyclone Biparjoy,
Jati, Shah Bandar and adjoining areas, as well as coastal belt of Badin district, also receiving heavy rainfall with stormy winds.
The sea water invading settlements and entered in Kalkachhani severing its land link with other areas of Sujawal district.
Meanwhile, the authorities have completed evacuation of people from the areas adjacent or nearing the sea.
High intensity winds have also hit Tharparkar’s coastal belt including Deeplo, Nangarparkar. Several towns of the district including Mithi, Deeplo, Naukot, Kaloi, Islamkot and rural areas have received rainfall with gusty winds uprooting trees in forest areas.
Biparjoy (disaster in Bengali), very severe cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea, is expected to landfall in Keti Bandar in Pakistan’s Sindh and Kuchh in Indian Gujarat this evening.
Evacuation
The authorities have said that 97.4 percent population of the coastal areas under cyclone threat have been shifted to safer places.
According to the released figures, 76,925 persons have been shifted to 44 relief camps in Badin, Sujawal and Thatta districts.
Corps Commander Karachi while lauding the effort by the Army, Rangers, Navy, NDMA and the civil administration, has ordered to remain high alert until the cyclone passes through the region.
