Alarm as cyclone may hit Pak coastal areas by June 15

KARACHI: The cyclone Biparjoy has intensified into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (ESCS) during the last 24 hours and is likely to hit the coastal belt of southeast Sindh between Pakistan/Rann of Kutch-Indian Gujarat coasts by June 15 afternoon as Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS), officials said on Sunday evening.

The extremely severe cyclone or severe cyclone with wind speed of 125-135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph, will hit the area between southeast Sindh and Indian Gujrat coasts, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) officials said on Sunday.

“The favourable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 30-32C, low vertical wind shear and upper-level divergence) are supporting the system to maintain its severity. Existing models and climatic conditions indicate that the storm can make its landfall between southeast Sindh and Rann of Kutch/ Indian Gujrat coasts on or around June 15, 2023,” Dr Sardar Sarfraz, Chief Meteorological Officer (CMO), Sindh, told The News.

Dr Sarfraz maintained that VSCS Biparjoy over east-central Arabian Sea was maintaining its intensity, further tracked north-northeastward during the past 12 hours and now lies near Latitude 18.7N & Longitude 67.8E at a distance of about 690 kms south of Karachi, 670 kms south of Thatta and 720 kms southeast of Ormara.

“Maximum sustained surface winds are 180-200 kms/hour, gusts 220 km/hour around the system center and sea conditions being phenomenal around the system centre with maximum wave height 35-40 feet. Under the existing upper-level steering winds, the ESCS Biparjoy is most likely to track further northward until June 14 morning direction, then recurve northeastwards and cross between Keti Bandar and (southeast Sindh) and Indian Gujarat coast as Very Severe Cyclonic Storm,” Dr. Sarfraz added.

The PMD official maintained that with its probable north-northeast track, the rain-thunderstorm with some very heavy falls and squally winds (80-100 Km/hour) are expected in southern/southeastern Sindh (Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparkar and Mirpurkhas districts) from 13-17 June evening.

“Dust/thunderstorm-rain with few heavy falls & accompanied with squally winds of 60-80 Km/hour likely in Karachi, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allayar, Mirpurkhas districts from 13/14 June-16 June,” he said adding that squally (high intensity) winds may cause damage to loose and vulnerable structures (Kutcha houses). Storm surge of 3-5 meters (8-12 feet) can be possible,” he said.

While quoting the PMD Cyclone Advisory, he advised fishermen not to venture into the open sea from tomorrow onwards till the system is over as the Arabian Sea conditions may get very rough/high accompanied with high tides along the coast.

The PMD said the chances of the cyclone directly hitting the city were few; however, it did not rule out the possibility of heavy winds and rainfall.

Separately, Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon directed the relevant authorities to get almost 450 buildings vacated in the city, which have been declared dilapidated and hazardous in the wake of the threat posed by cyclone Biparjoy.

Out of the 450 hazardous buildings in the city, 40 are extremely dangerous as per the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) data. The commissioner stressed that 40 such buildings should be vacated by Monday (today).

The commissioner alerted all departments of the city to deal with Biparjoy, currently present in the Arabian Sea. The commissioner directed all the relevant bodies to complete their preparations to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone. He held a meeting on Sunday with various governmental departments, including PDMA, NDMA, PMD, Pakistan Navy, deputy commissioners of all districts of the city, officials of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Sindh Health Department, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, K-Electric, Defence Housing Authority, SBCA, etc., in this regard.

The commissioner said all government departments should work in proper coordination. He was briefed that hazardous buildings were being vacated while billboards were also being removed.

The commissioner said all officials should be in close coordination through WhatsApp groups, while the deputy commissioners should finalise all the emergency plans by Monday.

The commissioner also directed the relevant authorities to strictly enforce Section 144 at all the beaches of the city. The PDMA and deputy commissioners presented their reports on low-lying areas in the meeting. The K-Electric said that they’ve taken measures to prevent electrocution cases, while they have also come up with alternative power supply solutions in case of power breakdowns in the city.

All the government hospitals, including the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical University Hospital, and Civil Hospital have also been issued alerts by the provincial health department.