India, Pakistan evacuate over 150,000 people as cyclone approaches
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[June 15, 2023]
By Francis Mascarenhas, Sumit Khanna and Gibran Naiyyar
Peshimam
MANDVI, India/KARACHI (Reuters) -Authorities in India and neighbouring
Pakistan have evacuated more than 150,000 people from vulnerable coastal
areas in the path of cyclone Biparjoy, set to whirl in from the Arabian
Sea and make landfall by Thursday night.
Biparjoy, which means 'disaster' or 'calamity' in the Bengali language,
was centred 140 km (87 miles) off Jakhau port in India's western state
of Gujarat and 230 km (143 miles) off Pakistan's southern port of
Karachi, weather officials said.
"We are expecting the cyclone to make landfall during the evening,
around 8 or 8:30 p.m.," said Manorama Mohanty, the Gujarat director of
the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which warned the process
could last until midnight.
It added that the cyclone could cause tidal waves in the Arabian Sea as
high as 2 m to 3 m (7 to 10 ft) that could inundate low-lying coastal
areas in both countries.
Classified as a category one storm, the least severe on a scale of one
to five, Biparjoy appeared to have lost some of its intensity.
It was expected to have a maximum sustained wind speed of 115 to 125 kph
(71 to 78 mph) gusting up to 140 kph (87 mph), down from Wednesday's
estimate of 150 kph (93 mph).
Close to 95,000 people have been evacuated from eight coastal districts
in Gujarat likely to be affected by the cyclone and moved to shelters,
the state government said.
Authorities in Pakistan said about 62,000 people had been evacuated from
high-risk areas by Wednesday evening.
Makeshift relief quarters were set up in school auditoriums and other
government buildings to shelter the displaced in both countries.
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A drone view shows dark clouds over
Mandvi beach before the arrival of cyclone Biparjoy in the western
state of Gujarat, India, June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
As the storm neared land, the windspeed rose around Jakhau, said
Amit Arora, a revenue official in the region of Kutch, where the
cyclone is likely to hit land, and more than 50,000 people have been
evacuated.
In the coastal town of Mandvi, a Reuters witness said strong winds
had uprooted trees and caused some waterlogging. Other districts in
the state also reported fallen trees and moderate rain.
Ships and boats have been moved from some areas of Pakistan's coast
with hospitals put on high alert for the cyclone.
Karachi, an economic hub of 20 million, faced no immediate threat,
but emergency measures were being taken to protect against the
expected winds and rain, said Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's climate
change minister.
Temporary thatched homes in coastal Gujarat could be flattened while
standing crops, plantations and roads are threatened with major
damage, the IMD said in a statement that cautioned against
disruptions to the railway network.
Indian authorities suspended fishing until Friday, shut schools and
closed beaches. Many offshore oil installations and major ports on
the Gujarat coast have suspended operations.
(Reporting by Francis Mascarenhas in Mandvi, India, Sumit Khanna in
Ahmedabad and Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam in Karachi; additionl
reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Writing by Sudipto Ganguly
and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Clarence
Fernandez)
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