LAHORE: Over 60,000 people have so far been evacuated to safer areas, Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik, the chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority said on Wednesday as a powerful cyclone, named Biparjoy, is inching closer to India and Pakistan.
The 'very severe cyclonic storm' developing over the northeast Arabian Sea is expected to make landfall between Mandvi in India's western state of Gujarat and Karachi in southern Pakistan by Thursday evening. The cyclone is expected to have maximum sustained wind speeds of between 125-135 km per hour (78-84 miles) gusting up to 150 km per hour.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Wednesday morning 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.
A woman takes care of her children as she with other families sheltering in a school building due to Cyclone Biparjoy approaching, in Golarchi near Badin, Pakistan's southern district in the Sindh province, on June 14, 2023. (AP)
“62,000 people have been evacuated to safer places,” Malik told reporters on Wednesday evening.
“According to reports we have received so far, around 75 relief camps have been established which have been set up by Pakistan army jointly with Rangers and the district administration.”
He said the Sindh government was taking a “clear lead” in the evacuations and all federal government departments would support them.
Cyclone evacuees arrive at a temporary shelter set at a school in Badin district of Pakistan's Sindh province on June 14, 2023, ahead of cyclone Biporjoy landfall. (AFP)
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a climate committee to deal with a possible “emergency” arising from Biparjoy.
“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.
