Nature’s wrath: Villages in Thatta submerged as cyclone hits

Villagers have relocated to weather the storm.

KARACHI/HYDERABAD:

Dozens of villages in the coastal line of Thatta have been submerged by the high tide in the Arabian Sea, preceding a cyclone which is predicted to hit the coast of Oman on June 15.

The villagers, although savvy of the regular tidal onslaught during this time of the year, evacuated to dry land after their villages started to submerge.

According to the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), a non-profit organisation working for the rights of the fishing community, the fishermen were not even warned against going out to sea. “Around 100 boats from several villages went to sea early in the morning,” claimed PFF’s Umar Mallah. “Nearly 500 fishermen are on-board these boats that are now stranded in the sea. The government should launch an early rescue operation to bring them back to the shore.”



The villages in the district’s three tehsils have been affected by the intruding sea water. The residents put the figure of the submerged villages between two to three dozen but the official figures are yet to be released.

The villages of Esa Khaskheli, Usman Khaskheli, Siddique Ronjho, Arif Samo, Allah Dito Sahito, Ahmed Jatt and others in Kharo Chhan, Hashim Rajwani, Muhammad Hussain Chandio, Qadir Bakhsh Sakhani and Yousuf Dablo in Keti Bunder and Aarib Mallah, Bachayo Mallah, Ahmed Sodai and Idrees Gagwani in Ghora Bari have all been submerged.

“It is the season of high tides but the cyclone has intensified the situation,” said Mohammad Ali Shah, the PFF chairman. “The fishermen haven’t been informed by the administration and not a single official has visited any area of the Sindh coast, despite the drastic nature of the situation.”

However, Shah said that no fishermen are stranded in the sea and neither is anyone in immediate danger. He added that due to seasonal high tides, the fishermen of Sindh avoid fishing in the open sea during this time. “The fishermen are safe,” he said. “Their activities are limited but several villages along the coast have been submerged due to the high tides.”

The Thatta deputy commissioner, Agha Shahnawaz Babur, could not be contacted. Rab Nawaz Khaskheli, a resident of one of the inundated villages, told the media that they have taken shelter in an empty school building. According to him, 15 families are staying in that school in Kharo Chahn.

The official version

The Pakistan Meteorological Department informed on June 10 that strong waves will hit the coastal belt as a tropical cyclone in eastern parts of the Arabian Sea is heading towards Oman.

The Met department has warned that the sea will remain rough from Friday evening to Sunday night and has advised fishermen to not venture out into the open sea during this period as the high tides may prove dangerous.

Pakistan’s coastal belt is not under severe threat of the 02A tropical cyclone called Nanauk but isolated thunderstorms are expected along the Sindh and Balochistan coastal areas on Friday and Saturday.

“The cyclone is 680 kilometres south-west of Karachi and there is no threat to Karachi and other coastal areas,” the chief meteorologist Muhammad Tauseef Alam informed. He said that the cyclone was moving towards the Oman coast and added that its strength may weaken gradually after 48 hours.

Stay away from the beach

Due to the possibility of a cyclone and high tides, Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui has imposed a ban on diving into the sea. He has also directed the relevant department to be on high alert, directing life-guards to be constantly present at the beach.  

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2014.