Cyclone Biparjoy now 600km away from Karachi

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said Cyclone Biparjoy came roughly 600 kilometres within the range of Karachi on Monday.

"The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (ESCS) “Biparjoy” over east-central Arabian Sea has moved further northward during last 12 hours and now lies near Latitude 19.5°N & Longitude 67.7°E at a distance of about 600km south of Karachi, 580km south of Thatta and 710km southeast of Ormara," read the alert issued this morning.

The weather service elaborated that maximum sustained surface winds are 160-180km/h and are gusting up to 200km/h around the storm's centre with "sea conditions being phenomenal with maximum wave height 35-40 feet".

"The favourable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 30-31°C, low vertical wind shear & upper-level divergence) are supporting the system to maintain its severity.

"Under the existing upper-level steering winds, the ESCS Biparjoy is most likely to track further Northward until June 14 morning, then recurve Northeastward and cross between Keti Bandar (Southeast Sindh) and Indian Gujarat coast on June 15 afternoon as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS).

"PMD’s cyclone warning centre, Karachi is continuously monitoring the system and will issue update accordingly," it added.

Read Cyclone: coastal areas put on high alert

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in a tweet urged all citizens to stay alert adding that evolving situations and the impact of the cyclone "will only be certain with further development of the weather system",

The Met department advised fisherfolk to not venture into the open sea “till the system is over by June 17 as the Arabian Sea conditions may get very rough/high accompanied with high tides along the coast”.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has urged citizens to stay away from shorelines as the cyclone -- heading towards the coastal areas of Pakistan and India -- was likely to intensify during the next 24 hours.

“The cyclone is expected to impact southern and south-eastern parts of Sindh on June 13,” it tweeted.

Sindh begins evacuations

Thousands of people have been evacuated from villages near the coast in view of the possibility of the cyclone hitting Keti Bandar.

The Sindh government has estimated that about 60,000 people in Sindh’s coastal districts, including Badin, Sujawal and Thatta.

The district administration along with law enforcement agencies reached Keti Bander and Gorabari.

The local residents told The Express Tribune that fear prevails among them as Cyclone Biparjoy approached the coast.

“We are leaving our homes to safer places,” said Shakeel Memon, a resident of Keti Bander. “We do not have any choice to live here,” he said quoting the authorities that evacuation is a ‘must’.

Memon said that the majority of the residents will have to stay in nearby areas like Bhagan, some 35km from Keti Bander. He said that the district government set up camps in Bhagan to accommodate the displaced families.

Another resident said that he was planning to move to other cities like Gharo or Karachi. “It is not easy to live in a camp in this situation,” he commented.

On the other hand, residents were being shifted to living in creeks, especially in Gorabari.

“Some of the families have already left,” Memon said. He said that the situation was critical for them. “It seems that the cyclone is about to hit this area and I don’t know what will be there when we come back,” he said.

CM Shah visits coastal areas

Thousands of residents living in Sindh’s coastal belt started leaving their homes for safer places ahead of the cyclone.

The authorities have warned the residents to leave the areas under threat and cooperate with the district administration.

The Sindh government has estimated that about 60,000 people are in Sindh’s coastal districts, including Badin, Sujawal and Thatta. The district administration along with law enforcement agencies reached Keti Bunder and Gorabari.

The local residents told The Express Tribune that fear prevails among them as Cyclone Biparjoy approached the coast.

“We are leaving our homes to safer places,” said Shakeel Memon, a resident of Keti Bunder. “We do not have any choice to live here,” he said quoting the authorities that evacuation is a ‘must’.

Memon said that the majority of the residents will have to stay in nearby areas like Bhagan, some 35km from Keti Bunder. He said that the district government set up camps in Bhagan to accommodate the displaced families.

Another resident said that he was planning to move to other cities like Gharo or Karachi. “It is not easy to live in a camp in this situation,” he commented. Residents living in creek areas were also being shifted.

“Some of the families have already left,” Memon said. He said that the situation was critical for them. “It seems that the cyclone is about to hit this area and I don’t know what will be there when we come back,” he said.

Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah also visited the coastal district and directed the district administrations to take all possible measures to save the residents.

Municipalities Minister Nasir Shah, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, DG PDMA Salman Shah were also present on this occasion.

The CM made an aerial inspection of the coastline of Sajawal, Thatta and Badin.

Taking in the severity of the situation, the CM said "high-speed winds can damage loose and weak structures, especially mud houses".

"Thatta, Sajawal and Badin are under threat, so I have sent Commissioner Hyderabad to evacuate people if necessary," he said adding that Commissioner Karachi has also been instructed to secure the billboards.

"Due to the impact of the storm, there will be a 4 to 5-meter flood in the sea and the water will come very far," he said, "residents have been evacuated from Badin's zero point village".

"Over 60 thousand people will be evacuated from the villages near the sea of Shah Bandar, Jati and Keti Bandar," the chief minister revealed, "2,000 people have been evacuated from the islands of Shahbandar at night and moved to a safe place."

Adviser to Chief Minister of Sindh, Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui, said that "health department, PDMA and [local] administration have been directed to ensure that all facilities are available in case of any emergency."