—— Sindh CM says Army called in to help relocated more than 80,000 people at risk
—— DHA Karachi recommends voluntary evacuation for residents of Seaview and Darakhshan
—— PMD says heavy rain, thunderstorm and squally winds likely in Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparker and Umerkot districts from June 13-17
—— Murad Ali Shah says cloudburst expected in Karachi
—— Adani Ports suspends Bessel operations at India’s biggest commercial port Mundra
—— Prediction shows there will be 60mm of rain in the span of half an hour
—— PM commends Sindh govt for taking pre-measures under CM’s leadership
From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The Sindh government on Monday announced evacuations across the province as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said Biparjoy, now classified as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”, was making its way across the Arabian Sea towards the coastlines of Pakistan and India.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said an emergency had been declared and the army drafted in to help relocate “more than 80,000 people” at risk.
“We will not request people but demand them to evacuate,” he told reporters, adding that the order was being issued through social media, mosques and radio stations.
Shah further said that the district administration and Pakistan Navy had evacuated nearly 500 villagers in Thatta and evacuation was underway for the remaining 1500 villagers.
Separately, a spokesman for the chief minister said that around 2,000 people had already been evacuated to “safe places” from the area of Shah Bandar, a fishing town nestled among mangrove deltas 45km (28 miles) west of India’s Gujarat state.
The Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in Karachi recommended “voluntary evacuation” for citizens residing in the Darakhshan and Seaview areas from June 13 till the “situation gets settled”.
The evacuations came as the PMD said the cyclone had “moved further north-northwestward during last 12 hours” and now lies near Latitude 19.9°N and Longitude 67.3°E at a distance of about 550km south of Karachi, 530km south of Thatta and 650km southeast of Ormara.
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 Indian Gujrat coast on June 15 as a “very severe cyclonic storm”.
The PMD said the cyclone’s maximum sustained surface winds were 140-150km per hour while gusts as high as 170km/h were around the system centre. Sea conditions were “phenomenal around the system centre with maximum wave height 35-40 feet”, it added.
“The favourable environmental conditions … are supporting the system to maintain its intensity,” the PMD said. The department added that its cyclone warning centre in Karachi was continuously monitoring the system and would issue updates accordingly.
In its alert, the PMD cited the system’s approach towards the southeast Sindh coast and warned citizens that “widespread wind-dust/thunderstorm rain with some very heavy/extremely heavy falls accompanied with squally winds of 80-100km/hour” were likely in Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparker and Umerkot districts from June 13-17.
It further said that “dust/thunderstorm-rain with few heavy falls and accompanied with squally winds of 60-80km/h” were likely in Karachi, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allayar, Shaheed Benazirabad and Sanghar districts from June 14 to 16.
“Squally (high-intensity) winds may cause damage to loose & vulnerable structures (kutcha houses), including solar panels, etc,” the department said.
A storm surge of 3-3.5 metres was expected when the cyclone made landfall which could inundate low-lying settlements, it highlighted.
The PMD advised fishermen to not venture out into the open sea “till the system is over by June 17 as the Arabian Sea conditions may get very rough/high accompanied with high tides along the coast”.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi later this afternoon, CM Shah stressed the need to prepare for dealing with the cyclone.
“The direction of the cyclone is changing and while it is not directed towards Karachi, there will be strong winds and rainfall. The prediction is that there will be 60mm of rain in the span of half an hour… It will be a cloudburst of the same intensity that we faced in 2020 and 2022,” he said. He added winds were expected to blow at 70 kilometres per hour.
CM Shah did not specify the date on which cloudburst was expected in Karachi.
As contingency measures, billboards were being removed and instructions had been issued to stop construction work, especially after June 14 since “June 14 and 15 will be severe” in terms of the effects of the cyclone, the CM added.
He said that around 70 buildings in Karachi had been declared “most dangerous” and a plan was being devised to evacuate people from there as well.
Shah said he had constituted “combined teams” to evacuate the people from areas at risk of getting affected by the cyclone in Sindh.
He further said he had directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and all district municipal corporations to have “all equipment”, including water-pumping machines, stationed at various locations across the city with sufficient diesel before the expected rainfall under the impact of the cyclone weather system.
“All will be on emergency duty till the risk of the cyclone persists,” he said.
Touching upon the issue of various roads being dug up across Karachi, Shah said the residents of those areas should not leave their homes unnecessarily as “when there will be one-to-two-foot-high water on the roads, you would not know where the road is and where the ditch is”.
He said he had asked the MPAs of Thatta, Badin and Sujawal not to attend the budget sessions for the next two days and ordered them to stay in their respective districts to assist with evacuation and monitor the situation.
“Because when the cyclone makes landfall after June 14, it will be the cyclone doing its work, we would not [be able] to do anything. We have to prepare before that,” he said.
The CM said Rescue 1122 personnel were being deployed to assist in case of emergencies.
Earlier, Shah conducted an aerial inspection of the coastline along Sujawal, Badin and Thatta. Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Shah, chief secretary Sohail Rajput and PDMA Director General Salman Shah also accompanied the chief minister.
He also presided over a meeting in Sujawal, where he reviewed arrangements being made to mitigate the impact of the cyclone on the coastal belt.
The Hyderabad commissioner, during a briefing, informed Shah that the cyclone is expected to hit the Sindh coast on June 15 and its impact will reduce till June 17-18.
He was further told that when the storm will hit the coast, the sea level will rise by four to five metres.
The minister was also informed that 50,000 people from the villages nearby Shah Bunder, Jati and Keti Bunder will need to be evacuated ahead of the cyclone.
People from the village of Bhagra Memon near Badin’s Zero Point had been evacuated while 2,000 people from the islands of Shah Bunder had been moved last night to a safe place, Shah was told.
He was also given a briefing in Thatta by Maritime Security Commander Jawwad Haider, who highlighted that there were two challenges — high tides and speedy winds.
The official further said that people residing in the areas of Khaar Kuchhan and Keti Bandar will have to be evacuated.
Subsequently, Shah directed the district administration, the Navy and Maritime Security to help the residents.
PPP’s Murtaza Wahab said the Sindh CM was visiting the coastal areas of Sindh to oversee preparations made to deal with the cyclone.
“The health department, the provincial disaster management authority and the administration have been directed to ensure that all facilities are available in case of any emergency,” he said on Twitter.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he spoke to CM Murad 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 the complete support of the federal government. God willing, we will be able to overcome this situation with the support of the people,” he tweeted.
Separately, the DHA shared a number of precautions and asked residents to maintain a watchful eye during the cyclone storms.
“We advise our residents to prepare for the severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy. Please secure your basement entrance and windows to prevent storm water from damaging your house,” it tweeted.
The authority added that residents could reach out at the helpline 1092 in case of an emergency situation.
