- Friday, February 28, 2025
The country is still to recover from losses caused by unprecedented floods last year in which over 1,700 people were killed and more than 33 million were affected.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Authorities in Pakistan, which witnessed a devastating flood last year that saw massive deaths and economic damage, were evacuating thousands of people from the low-lying coastal areas in the country’s southern Sindh province while bracing for the extremely severe Cyclone Biparjoy.
The cyclone, named by Bangladesh and means ‘disaster’ in Bengali, has gained strength and is likely to cause heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in the country.
Cyclone Biparjoy brings heavy rain to India’s financial capital Mumbai; flight operations hit
All concerned authorities have been put on high alert after Biparjoy, which is located over the Arabian Sea, turned into an extremely severe cyclonic storm on Sunday (11). Biparjoy is likely to affect Sindh’s coastal areas on Tuesday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.
Karachi’s Seaview Road was blocked for traffic on Monday (12) to prevent people from heading out into the open sea as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said Biparjoy was around 600 kilometres away from the coastal city.
The residents of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), one of the upscale areas in Karachi, have been advised to take precautionary measures as Biparjoy moves closer to the metropolis. A top official of the NDMA said that the authorities have started moving people from the low-lying coastal areas in Sindh to temporary shelters in government schools and offices as the cyclone is expected to make its landfall in Keti Bandar and its adjoining areas.
Keti Bandar is one of the oldest ports in Sindh.
“We are expecting the high-intensity winds, heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and high tides to damage vulnerable structures, so we have started taking precautions and are evacuating the people at least 10 kilometres away from coastal areas,” Jahanzaib Khan, the NDMA official, said. The NDMA has also issued directions that all high-rise buildings and mobile towers in Karachi must be lit up by beacon lights and big advertisement boards on poles and buildings should either be strengthened or removed altogether if they pose a threat to passing traffic and the people.
In another precautionary measure, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority’s airside department has also alerted the relevant officials to ensure the safety of lightweight aircraft and other electrical equipment by taking precautionary measures such as mooring of parked light aircraft or re-parking to a safer place. The precautions came as the PMD issued a fresh advisory which said the cyclone had “moved further northward during the last 12 hours”.
The Met department said the system was “most likely to track further northward until June 14 morning”. It added that the cyclone would then recurve northeastward and cross between Keti Bandar (southeast Sindh) and the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat on June 15 as a “very severe cyclonic storm”.
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister for climate change and environment, said the NDMA, with its provincial units, would coordinate with Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Maritime Security Authority, and Pakistan Coast Guards in rescue efforts and ensure the safety of people. “Biparjoy is unpredictable yet categorised as high intensity. Panic is counterproductive, but caution and planning are better than being caught unawares,” the minister said.
The South Asian nation is still to recover from losses caused by unprecedented floods last year in which over 1,700 people were killed, and more than 33 million were affected.
(With PTI inputs)
