Islamabad: The coastal regions of Pakistan were on high alert on Thursday with over 82,000 people being evacuated to safer places in the southern Sindh province as Cyclone Biparjoy, currently classified as a “very severe cyclonic storm”, was expected to make landfall later tonight or after midnight.
Biparjoy, meaning disaster or calamity in Bengali, is inching closer to Pakistan, prompting authorities to take preventive measures to minimise the damage it may cause to life and property in the coastal region of the country which was hard hit by the devastating floods last year.
In its latest updates, the Pakistan Meteorological Department Thursday evening said that the cyclone has moved further east-northeastward and now lies at a distance of about 245km south of Karachi, 200km south Thatta and 150km south of Keti Bandar.
Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Minister Sherry Rehman said that cyclone Biparjoy had “slowed down” and will not make landfall before night.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, she said it was previously expected that the cyclone would hit the shore around 11:00am.
“But, since the speed at which it is moving has slowed by 6-7km, its times of landfall is delayed and it is now expected to hit the shores until after dusk,” she added.
However, she stressed that while the cyclone had “slowed down”, its core was still “intense”, and the areas identified earlier as vulnerable still needed to stay alert.
“We had earlier marked four districts at risk. Thatta, Badin, Sujawal and Malir (Karachi). Now, since the trajectory is towards the northeast, the Tharparkar region also needs to be aware of the impact of the cyclone,” she said.
She said the evacuation process in the affected coastal belt areas had been completed, and some 82,000 people had been shifted to safer places.
“All institutions including Navy, Police Force, Rangers are involved,” Rehman said, adding that the Air Force is not needed now but would provide assistance when needed.
Meanwhile, Cyclone Biparjoy started making landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat’s Kutch district on Thursday evening after churning across the Arabian Sea for over 10 days.
Officials said that about half of the evacuated people have been kept in the relief camps while others have opted to live with their relatives in safe areas.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to ensure the relocation of thousands of people from the coastal areas to safer locations as part of the preparedness to deal with the cyclone.
“I just spoke to CM Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah and discussed the preparations to deal with the cyclone. I commend the Sindh government for the arrangements it has made under the leadership of the Chief Minister. I assured the Sindh government of complete support of the federal government. God willing, we will be able to overcome this situation with the support of the people,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
Pakistan has already mobilised the civil administration and personnel of the armed forces to help in the rescue operations along the coastal areas.
Rehman said that Karachi was not under immediate threat, but emergency measures are being taken to deal with accompanying winds and rain that are expected to batter the country’s economic hub.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) alert, strong winds, storm surges and lashing rains would hammer a 325-kilometre coastal stretch between Karachi and Mandvi in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Earlier, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon told the media that evacuations have taken place in Thatta, Keti Bundar, Sujawal, Badin, Umerkot, Tharparkar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar and Sanghar.
He said those evacuated had been moved to government schools, colleges and government offices with solid walls, roofs and stocked with plenty of food, water and medical aid.
He said in many areas of Thatta, Keti Bandar and Sujawal some families were not ready to evacuate and had to be removed forcibly.
“There are also people who had voluntarily moved to safer locations,” he added.
The government has, as a precaution, carried out some evacuations in Balochistan province’s Hub and Lasbela districts and in the port city of Gwadar.
Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir also alerted citizens about a “temporary decline in RLNG-based (Re-Gasified Liquefied Natural Gas-based) electricity generation and temporary increase in load-shedding” due to the cyclone disrupting RLNG shipping to Pakistan.
The energy minister said shipping to the Port Qasim RLNG terminals was stopped which also caused the suspension of gas to K-Electric, Bahadur Shah and Bikki Power Plants.
The minister warned that the cyclone could affect the power transmission system in the coastal areas of Karachi and other parts of Sindh.
Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Lt-Gen Inam Haider Malik said Biparjoy was following the path that had been predicted by the PMD.
“Biparjoy is going northeast and it seems it will take a hard right even further to the east which means it will go past the megacity of Karachi,” he said.
In Karachi, also a spokesperson for the Defence Housing Authority said that some 2,000 residents living in Seaview and Darakshan housing areas near the Seaview beach had voluntarily moved to other safer places.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport was operational but in case of bad weather, safety measures are taken at the airport as per the set SOPs.
“Keeping the pilots continuously informed about the wind speed and the weather is a routine matter,” an official said.
“In unusual circumstances, pilots decide on the nearest suitable destination for take-off or landing by considering the terrain and weather conditions,” the CAA added.
Cyclone Phet was the last major cyclone to hit Pakistan’s coastal areas in 2010. It killed 15 people in Sindh and Makran coastal areas and left thousands of people homeless.
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