MANDVI, India (AP) — A vast swath of western India and neighboring southern Pakistan that suffered deadly floods last year brace for another deluge as Cyclone Biparjoy approaches the earth on Thursday.
Rain was falling and skies were darkening in western India and southern Pakistan along the Arabian Sea, where dusty storms hampered evacuation and rescue operations. Authorities expect conditions to worsen for two or three days after the cyclone makes landfall in India’s Gujarat.
Officials in the two South Asian countries were on high alert as the cyclone approached. It is expected to make landfall near the port of Jakhau in India’s Kutch district and flood the area. In Pakistan, Keti Bandar in the flood-ravaged southern province of Sindh is also in Biparjoy’s path.
Bazaars and beaches in Mandvi, India, usually a bustling coastal town known for its wooden boat makers, were deserted on Thursday under government shutdown orders.
Thousands of people in India have been evacuated, bringing the total number of people transferred to relief camps to 75,000. In Pakistan, the head of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik, said 73,000 people had been evacuated so far to safer locations and authorities were providing them with shelter and food.
The disaster management agency said on Thursday the cyclone was blowing sustained winds of up to 120 km/h (about 75 mph) and was expected to hit Pakistan’s Sindh province, the site of one of the historic deadly floods in last summer. At least 1,739 people were killed and 33 million displaced in 2022 when climate-induced floods swept across the country, causing $30 billion in damage.
On Thursday morning, authorities said the storm had lost some of its intensity and was expected to have a maximum sustained wind speed of between 115 km/h and 125 km/h (71 mph to 78 mph), with gusts up to to 140 km/h (87 mph), a slight drop from the forecast a day earlier.
India’s meteorological department said the cyclone was hitting the port of Jakhau, where it is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening.
Like southern Pakistan, large parts of the Gujarat coast also experienced heavy rains and high winds. Indian authorities have warned that the cyclone, classified as a “very severe cyclonic storm”, has the potential to inflict heavy damage once it makes landfall.
A storm surge two to three feet (two to three meters) above the astronomical tide is likely to inundate low areas in the path of the storm. The tides could rise up to six meters (more than six meters) in some places, the IMD said.
“We have made elaborate arrangements for post-cyclone works like restoration of power infrastructure, mobile networks and other infrastructure,” Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel told the Press news agency. Trust of India.
A government statement said major religious sites on the Gujarat coast, such as Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhoomi Dwarka and Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district, will remain closed on Thursday.
A statement from Indian Railways said 76 trains were canceled due to the cyclone.
On Thursday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was on an official visit to Azerbaijan.
In a tweet the day before, Sharif said the government had taken all possible measures to ensure the safety of people at risk in the southern province of Sindh.
“Preparations have been made to deal with any type of emergency following heavy rains and strong winds in Karachi, while the evacuation of fishermen from the sea and people from coastal areas continues apace,” he said. he declared.
Pakistan’s Climate Minister Sherry Rehman advised against panic and said Karachi, the country’s largest city with 20 million people, was safe as the cyclone would not hit it, as previously feared.
An Associated Press reporter saw people moving to safer locations in vehicles, saying they initially ignored government warnings.
Pakistan has so far made no appeal for help from the UN, which said the day before it was monitoring the situation. Local charities and aid agencies on both sides were helping displaced people.
Experts say climate change is leading to an increase in cyclones in the Arabian Sea region, making disaster preparedness all the more urgent. Pakistan is among the 10 countries most affected by climate change, although the country’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is less than 1%.
A 2021 study found that the frequency, duration and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea increased significantly between 1982 and 2019.
In 1998, a cyclone that hit the state of Gujarat claimed over 1,000 lives and caused excessive damage. A cyclone that struck Sindh province and the city of Karachi in 1965 killed more than 10,000 people.
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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India. Associated Press writer Muhammad Farooq contributed to this story from Badin, Pakistan.
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