People urged to stay away from shorelines as Cyclone Biparjoy now 760km away from Karachi

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday urged people to stay away from shorelines as Cyclone Biparjoy, which is heading towards the coastal areas of Pakistan and India, lay at a distance of about 760 kilometres south of Karachi.

According to state-run Radio Pakistan, the NDMA also called on people to follow local authorities’ guidance in any emergency situation. Over the past few days, the Karachi commissioner has banned entry to the beaches in Karachi, as well as fishing, sailing, swimming, and bathing at seas within the territorial limit of Karachi owing to the threat from today till the end of the storm.

However, a considerable number of people could be seen present at Karachi’s Seaview despite the government’s directives to stay away from the shore.

It came as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), in an official statement, said the cyclone had now further intensified into an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”.

It said the system was at a distance of about 760km south of Karachi, 740km south of Thatta and 840km southeast of Ormara.

The Met department located the cyclone near latitude 18.1°N and longitude 67.5°E, and said the system is “most likely to track further northward until June 14 morning”.

It added that the cyclone will 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 150-160km per hour while gusts as high as 180km/h were around the system centre. Sea conditions were “phenomenal around the system centre with maximum wave height 35-40 feet”, it added.

It further said, “The favourable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 30-32°C, low vertical wind shear and upper-level divergence) are supporting the system to maintain its intensity.”

The PMD’s daily forecast also noted that “dust-raising/gusty winds are expected in central/southern districts of the country” on Sunday and Monday afternoons.

Separately, the NDMA quoted the Pacific Disaster Centre (PDC) stating that around 1.38 million people from both Pakistan and India were exposed to the cyclone, of which 305,755 were among the vulnerable population.

It added the cyclone had sustained winds of 185km/h with gusts as high as 232km/h.

The PDC’s website further said the system is “forecast to remain on a generally northward trajectory through 72 hours, after which the bulk of the guidance indicates an eastward turn, while a few rebels still shift westward”.

According to Zoom Earth’s live radar, a slight change in the system’s forecasted track was noticeable. The new projected route shows the cyclone heading towards the Indian coastline, compared to yesterday’s prediction of heading towards Pakistan’s coastal cities.

However, the radar showed that large parts of the Sindh coast remain in the cyclone’s “cone of uncertainty”.

The NDMA has also urged people to stay away from shorelines and follow local authorities; guidance in any emergency situation, Radio Pakistan reported.

It quoted an NDMA spokesperson as saying that sustained winds of 150km per hour were around the system’s centre.

Possible impacts

In its alert, the PMD cited the system’s approach towards southeast Sindh 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 and Mirpurkhas districts from June 13 or 14 to 16.

The Met department noted, “Squally (high-intensity) winds may cause damage to loose & vulnerable structures (kutcha houses).”

A storm surge of 3-3.5 meters was expected at the land-falling point (Keti Bandar and around, it added.

The PMD reiterated its advice to fishermen to not venture 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”.

‘Completely monitoring situation’

Separately, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the provincial government is “completely monitoring the situation of weather in coastal areas”.

In a tweet, he reiterated the directives issued to fishermen to not go into the deep sea and said district administrations were “completely vigilant and on alert”.

The PPP leader added that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has directed government employees to not leave their districts.

A day ago, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also directed the NDMA to take “emergency measures” in view of Cyclone Biparjoy, Radio Pakistan had said.

It quoted the premier directing the NDMA to make “advance preparations in collaboration with the Sindh government”.

Shehbaz further directed the authority to provide full assistance to people during storms and rains in Balochistan, Radio Pakistan added.

Indian authorities issue alert

Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department also tweeted a “yellow message” alert for its Saurashtra and Kutch coast.

It said Biparjoy lay over the east-central Arabian Sea, 460km south-southwest (SSW) of Porbandar, 510km SSW of Dwarka and 600km SSW of Naliya.

It forecast the system to cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjacent Pakistan coasts around noon of June 15 while remaining a “very severe” category cyclone.

The ANI shared a video of high tides witnessed on Mumbai’s coast ahead of the cyclone.

In a separate report, it said Delhi witnessed a “sudden change in weather with temperatures falling below 40 degrees Celsius”.

The ANI quoted the New Delhi Regional Weather Forecasting Centre as saying that “thunderstorms, light-intensity rains and gusty winds” were predicted in Delhi.

Authorities ban coastal activities

On Saturday night, the PMD had advised the authorities concerned to be on “high alert” as the system could cause flooding, particularly in the low-lying areas, among other damages.

“The cyclone over the east-central Arabian Sea has formed an eye, indicating that the system has grown more organised and more powerful,” chief meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz had told Dawn.

According to him, the cyclone was, at that moment, directed towards the coastal areas of Karachi, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparkar and the adjoining areas of Indian Gujrat.

Earlier the same day, the PMD had noted there was an uncertainty in the “global models’ final track forecast” of the cyclone, with some taking it to the Makran-North Oman coast and others indicating it towards the Indian Gujarat-Sindh coast.

Authorities in Karachi had also banned going into the “open sea for sailing, fishing, swimming or bathing within the territorial limits of Karachi Division” from June 11 onwards, under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.