Karachi on alert as cyclone Asna threatens coastal areas

KARACHI:

Coastal towns and cities in Sindh and Balochistan braced for a rare August cyclone on Friday, as heavy rains and winds forced authorities to close schools and evacuate thousands.

Cyclonic Storm 'Asna' has moved westward over the northeast Arabian Sea and is now located approximately 120km south of Karachi, 180km southwest of Thatta, 250km southeast of Ormara, and 440km east-southeast of Gwadar, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) announced on Friday night.

The storm is positioned at Latitude 23.8 N and Longitude 66.6 E. According to the PMD, Asna is expected to continue moving initially west-northwestward and then shift to a west-southwestward trajectory.

Under the influence of Asna, rain and thunderstorms, accompanied by heavy downpours and squally winds of 60-70 km/h, gusting up to 80 km/h, are expected in Karachi, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Jamshoro, and Dadu districts of Sindh until August 31. Similar weather conditions are forecast for the districts of Hub, Lasbella, Awaran, Kech, and Gwadar in Balochistan until September 1.

The PMD has warned that heavy rains may cause waterlogging in low-lying areas along the Makran coast.

Sea conditions are likely to remain rough to very rough, with squally winds reaching speeds of 60-70 km/h, gusting up to 80 km/h. Fishermen from Sindh are advised to avoid venturing into the sea until August 31, while those from Balochistan should refrain from doing so until September 1.

Met officials have described the formation of a cyclone in the monsoon season as a "rare phenomenon".

"It would be a rare event as cyclones are uncommon in the monsoon season," Chief Meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz said earlier.

"There is an 80 per cent chance for a cyclonic storm's formation when the deep depression would move from land to the sea and get favourable conditions."

Sarfraz earlier said if the storm materialised it would be the first cyclone in the Arabian Sea in August since 1976 and would get the name 'Asna' suggested by Pakistan. He added that regional cyclones were assigned names according to a list prepared by a 13-country panel, including Pakistan.

"Widespread rain/wind-thunderstorms with scattered heavy/very heavy and isolated extremely heavy falls" are likely till August 31 in the Karachi division as well as Tharparkar, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Dadu and Shaheed Benazirabad districts.

About the Balochistan coastline, the PMD predicted "widespread rain/wind-thunderstorm with scattered heavy/very heavy falls" in Hub, Lasbella, Awaran, Kech, and Gwadar districts from August 30 to September 1, with occasional gaps.

"Heavy rains may create water logging/rain inundation in low-lying areas of Sindh-Makran coast," the Met Office warned.

It further said sea conditions were likely to remain rough/very rough with squally winds of 50-60km/hour gusting at 70km/hour.

The PMD advised fishermen in Sindh not to venture into the sea till August 31 and those in Balochistan till September 1.