Cyclone Biparjoy: Pakistan Braces For Impact, Authorities On High Alert — 5 Points

The coastal regions of Pakistan were on high alert with over 67,000 people being evacuated to safer places in the southern Sindh province.

The coastal regions of Pakistan were on high alert with over 67,000 people being evacuated to safer places in the southern Sindh province.

Source : PTI

Ahead of Cyclone Biparjoy's expected landfall on Thursday evening near the Jakhau port in Gujarat's Kutch district, the coastal regions of Pakistan were on high alert with over 67,000 people being evacuated to safer places in the southern Sindh province. The landfall is expected to bring heavy rain and cause flooding in several cities in the neighbouring country. The “very severe cyclonic storm” is expected to make landfall between Keti Bandar Port in Sindh's Thatta district and Kutch district in India.

Here Are Top 5 Updates: 

• According to information shared by the Sindh Chief Minister House, 67,367 people have been evacuated from the three vulnerable districts of Thatta, Sujawal, and Badin, where 39 relief camps have been set up, as reported by PTI.
• According to the officials in Pakistan, 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.
• Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to ensure the relocation of over 50,000 people from the coastal areas to safer locations as part of the preparedness to deal with the cyclone.
• 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.
• In Karachi, the Defence Housing Authority Spokesperson said that around 2,000 residents living in Seaview and Darakshan housing areas near the Seaview beach had voluntarily moved to other safer places in view of the landfall, as reported by PTI. Rizvi went on to say that because of their proximity to the sea, the Seaview and Darakhshan areas were the top priority for evacuations at the moment, as reported by Dawn.

Pakistan’s 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, as quoted by PTI. “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.

Climate Change Minister Sherry 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. The latest alert issued by the PMD said the cyclone was at a distance of about 310 kilometres south of Karachi, 300 kilometres south-southwest of Thatta and 240 kilometres south-southwest of Keti Bandar.

“Maximum sustained surface winds are 150-160 km/hour, gusts 180 km/hour around the system centre and sea conditions being phenomenal around the system centre with maximum wave height [of] 30 feet,” the alert said, as quoted by PTI.

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