ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday formed a climate committee to deal with a possible “emergency” arising from Biparjoy, a tropical cyclone in the middle of the Arabian Sea that is expected to make landfall near the border of Pakistan and India in the Kutch district of the state of Gujarat tomorrow, Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said Biparjoy had nearly moved northward during the last six hours and was at a distance of 275 kilometers southwest of Keti Bandar, 340 kilometers south of Karachi, and 355 kilometers south of Thatta in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province.
On Monday, the Sindh government said it was evacuating people living in coastal areas.
“I have constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the minister of climate change to deal with any possible emergency situation arising from Biparjoy,” PM Sharif wrote on Twitter, saying the committee would comprise relevant ministers and representatives of both federal and provincial institutions who would continuously monitor the storm.
“Due to the possibility of Biparjoy hitting Kati Bandar, all relevant government agencies have been instructed to ensure the early rescue of people and I have directed authorities to move more than 50,000 people living in the coastal areas to safe places where they will be provided with clean drinking water and food as well as comfortable accommodation and medical facilities until the storm abates.”
PMD’s chief meteorologist, Sardar Sarfraz, told Arab News on Wednesday morning the port city of Karachi was expected to receive heavy rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday as the storm inched closer to the coastline of the metropolis.
“Tonight and tomorrow, heavy rainfall is expected in some parts of Karachi, but the situation in the city will not be dangerous,” he said.
Meanwhile, authorities have warned people living near coastal areas to take precautionary measures and told fishermen not to venture into the sea. People have also been advised to avoid Karachi beaches.
The country’s national carrier PIA said strong winds and gusts would likely affect air sites and routes but all preparatory measures to deal with the cyclone had been completed.
“PIA has activated its 24-hour emergency response center which will closely monitor and take immediate actions for flight operations in case of weather deterioration,” PIA Spokesperson Abdullah H. Khan said in a statement issued Tuesday evening.
“In case of bad weather situation at Karachi and Sukkur airports, Multan and Lahore will be used as alternative airfields.”
In India, the weather department said roads would be inundated along parts of India's western coast and thatched houses were likely to be destroyed. Eight districts in coastal Gujarat are expected to be affected, the state government said. Fishing has been suspended until Friday and schools have declared holidays.
Many offshore oil installations and major ports, which line up the coasts in Gujarat have been forced to suspend operations.
"We have evacuated more than 45,000 people so far. The evacuation operations will continue till today (Wednesday) evening, mainly in Kutch," said Kamal Dayani, a senior official in the Gujarat state government.
Tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea, like this one, have become more frequent the past couple of decades because of warming sea surface temperatures in the region, enhanced by a warming climate, according to researchers.
