KARACHI: A deep depression brewing in the Arabian Sea has intensified into a cyclonic storm, ASNA, and may impact Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said Friday evening, with provincial authorities shutting schools and taking other precautionary measures.
The weather system, which developed over India’s Rann of Kutch coast and the adjoining northeast Arabian Sea, moved westward in the last six hours and intensified into a cyclonic storm, according to the PMD.
It lied at about 170 kilometers south-southeast of Karachi at a latitude of 23.5°N and a longitude of 67.9°E, and was likely to keep moving west-northwestwards.
“Under its influence, widespread rain/wind-thunderstorms with scattered heavy/very heavy and isolated extremely heavy falls likely in Karachi division, Tharparker, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Dadu & Shaheed Benazirabad districts till 31st August,” the PMD said in its latest alert on Friday evening.
It said heavy rains could inundate low-lying areas of Sindh-Makran coast and sea conditions were likely to remain rough, with squally winds of 60-70 km/hour gusting at 80km/hour.
“Fishermen are advised not to venture into sea till 31st August,” the PMD added.
Heavy rains triggered flash floods in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, causing power outages, media reported. Schools were closed in the city on Friday in anticipation of unusually heavy showers.
Pakistani authorities have also warned of flash floods in multiple districts of the Sindh province, which is still recovering from the massive floods of 2022 which inundated large swathes of the country and damaged the economy.
Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) on Thursday warned of heavy rains and thunderstorms in parts of the Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces in the next 72 hours, with nearly 250 killed in rain disasters since July 1.
Pakistan is recognized as one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change effects. This year, the South Asian country recorded its “wettest April since 1961,” with 59.3 millimeters of rainfall, while some areas of the country faced deadly heat waves in May and June.
In 2022, unusually heavy rains triggered floods in many parts of the country, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting economic losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.
Pakistan’s Sindh braces for impact as Arabian Sea weather system intensifies into Cyclone ASNA
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Pakistan’s Sindh braces for impact as Arabian Sea weather system intensifies into Cyclone ASNA
- Authorities say heavy rains may inundate low-lying areas of Sindh-Makran coast, sea conditions are likely to remain rough
- Rains triggered flash floods in the provincial capital of Karachi, causing power outages and prompting closure of schools
Suicide bomber kills at least five at wedding in northwest Pakistan
- Attack took place in Dera Ismail Khan, targeting the home of a local peace committee member
- Peace committees are community-based groups that report militant activity to security forces
PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber killed at least five people and wounded 10 others after detonating explosives at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, officials said, in an attack that underscored persistent militant violence in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The blast took place at the home of a local peace committee member in Dera Ismail Khan district, where guests had gathered for a wedding, police and emergency officials said.
Peace committees in the region are informal, community-based groups that work with security forces to report militant activity and maintain order, making their members frequent targets of attacks.
“A blast occurred near Qureshi Moor in Dera Ismail Khan. Authorities have recovered five bodies and shifted 10 injured to hospital,” said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial Rescue 1122 emergency service, adding that the rescue operation was ongoing.
Police said the attacker blew himself up inside the house during the ceremony and that the bomber’s head had been recovered, confirming it was a suicide attack.
Several members of the local peace committee were present at the time, raising fears the toll could rise.
District Police Officer Sajjad Ahmed Sahibzada said authorities had launched an investigation into the incident, while security forces sealed off the area.
Militant attacks have surged in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the Taliban returned to power in neighboring
Afghanistan in 2021, with the administration in Islamabad blaming the Afghan government for “facilitating” cross-border attacks targeting Pakistani civilians and security forces. However, Kabul has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also seen frequent intelligence-based operations by security forces targeting suspected militants.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
