A history of cyclones striking Pakistan region during last 130 years

LAHORE: The recorded history of cyclones hitting areas that became part of Pakistan after the 1947 partition, dates back to at least July 10, 1894, when a typhoon entered Sindh, while the following year, a hurricane wreaked havoc on Balochistan’s Makran Coast, archival research shows.

Though cyclones are rare in the Arabian Sea, which is actually considered a part of North Indian Ocean, these storms mostly move towards Western India rather than devastating Pakistan’s 1,046-kilometre-long coastline along the Arabian Sea.

Weather websites tell us that the word “cyclone” is of Greek origin and means a “coil of snake.”

We all know that ferocious cyclones not only resemble the coil of the snake, but they also possess the venom of thousands of snakes too when it comes to their killing capability.

Here follows the timeline and chronology in this context:

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, cyclones have hit Pakistan in May 1901 (Balochistan), May 1902 (Karachi), June 1906, June 1907, September 1926 (storm had moved from Indian Gujarat into Pakistan), June 1936, July 1936, July 1944 (some 10,000 people were left homeless in Karachi), June 1948, June 1964 (Tharparkar and Hyderabad were affected by a hurricane that killed 450 people and left some 400,000 people homeless.

Damage was estimated at $4.1 million), the December 15, 1965 Karachi cyclone had claimed about 10,000 lives, the 1970 East Pakistan cyclone had left half a million inhabitants dead, May 1985 (this particular cyclonic storm was moving towards Karachi but had weakened over the sea while still a few 100 Kilometers away from Pakistan’s port city), November 1993 (a hurricane had dissipated near the Sindh-Gujarat border. However, it caused massive rainfall and flooding in Karachi.

Archives reveal Karachi, Thatta, Keti Bandar and Badin districts were the worst affected as the cyclone had killed 609 people and displaced some 200,000 humans), June 1998 (striking Gujarat in India, a cyclone had electrocuted 12 people in Pakistan), May 1999 (a storm had struck Keti Bandar shores, killing 6,200 people. At least US$ one million in relief funds were allocated to cope with the calamity’s damage and aftermath. The cities of Thatta, Umer Kot, Mirpur, Badin, Hyderabad, and Tharparkar were the worst hit), May 2001 (more than 100,000 people were evacuated in southeastern Pakistan due to the threat from a powerful typhoon in the Arabian Sea), October 2004 (Cyclone Onil, the first named storm in the Indian Ocean, had brought heavy rainfall and gusty winds, leading to nine deaths in Karachi.

Flooded streets and power outages had contributed to at least two electrocution deaths), June 2007 (Cyclone Gonu had brought heavy rainfall and strong winds in the city of Gwadar. Damage was caused to dozens of boats and school buildings in the area. This storm had claimed 100 lives in Oman, Iran and the United Arab Emirates and was responsible for $4 billion in damage), June 24, 2007 (Cyclone Yemyin had killed 200 people in Karachi alone. According to BBC News, torrential rains and gale-force winds had led to the deaths of more than 200 people in Karachi, which received 17.7mm of rain. This storm had made a landfall near the towns of Ormara and Pasni in Balochistan, killing 300 more people. Overall, it killed 730 people and affected the lives of 2 million people in Pakistan making it the third deadliest cyclone in the history of the country), November 2009 (Cyclone Phyan had caused gusty winds along the shores of Karachi), June 2010 (Cyclone Phet led to 370 mm rain in Gwadar alone and damaged 10,000 houses. This storm had killed at least 18 people in Pakistan – 11 by electrocution, and seven due to collapsed walls. Damage was estimated at US$80 million), May 2021 (a typhoon had killed four people in Karachi) and September 2021 (a cyclone named Shaheen had produced gusty winds and rainfall in Karachi, causing one death in Orangi).