24 die as cyclone churns off Indo-Pak coast

KARACHI/ LAHORE/PESHAWAR/BAHAWALPUR/QUETTA/GUJARAT: Coastal towns and cities in Pakistan and India braced for a rare August cyclone on Saturday, as heavy rains and winds forced authorities to close schools and evacuate thousands. Also, rain-related accidents claimed the lives of 24 people with three in Indian Gujarat and 21 across Pakistan.

The Pakistan Meteorology Department (PMD) on Friday said that the Cyclonic Storm “ASNA” over the northeast Arabian Sea off the Sindh coast moved westward during the past 6 hours and now lies at around Latitude 23.8 N & Longitude 66.6 E at about 120 kms south of Karachi, 180 kms southwest of Thatta. The system is likely to keep moving initially west-northwestwards and then west-southwestwards. The cyclonic storm would enter the Arabian Sea by Saturday afternoon or evening if environmental conditions remain favourable, the PMD said in its latest cyclone alert.

Under its influence, rain-thundershowers with few heavy falls and accompanied by squally winds (60-70 km/hour gusting 80 km/hour) are likely in Karachi Division, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Matiari, Jamshoro and Dadu districts till August 31. Sea conditions are likely to remain rough/very rough with squally winds of 60-70 km/hour gusting at 80 km/hour. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea till 31st August.

PMD Director General Mehar Sahibzada Khan said in a press conference that “the cyclone, Asna, brewed off the Karachi-Gwadar coast which may result in heavy rainfalls after hitting western coastal areas. Cyclones usually advance from sea to land but Asna’s advancement is vice versa [...] It will intensify into a hurricane whose impacts will be seen in the next week,” he added. “Our country is receiving more than usual downpours due to this cyclone. Upper areas of the country will experience more rain from September 2 to 4.”

Earlier, parts of Karachi received 147mm (5.79 inches) of rain overnight, the PMD said. Mehar predicted that the weather conditions would improve in southern areas after two days. Additionally, the Met Office said that there was a forecast of heavy rain in Karachi in the next 24 hours, accompanied by strong winds and thundershowers.

The PMD forecast warned heavy rains may cause water logging or rain inundation in low-lying areas of the Sindh-Makran coast while sea conditions are likely to remain rough. It advised fishermen in Sindh to avoid venturing into the sea till August 31 and those of Balochistan until September 1. In view of the emergent situation, Karachi’s mayor, Murtaza Wahab, in a post on X, urged residents to avoid “unnecessary movement”. Two people were killed in Kashmore and Jamshoro following a roof collapse incident. Besides 75 kms of roads in Tharparkar were damaged in the last 24 hours.

In various districts of Balochistan, heavy rains with thunderstorms washed away road infrastructure, disconnecting many areas with district headquarters and destroyed large numbers of mud houses. All seasonal rivers and streams carrying flash flood waters threatened settlements and crops in various areas of the province. Gas supply was suspended to various areas of Balochistan, including most parts of Quetta, Pishin, Ziarat, Kalat and Mastung after a gas pipeline was swept away. “A 12-inch diameter gas pipeline was washed away by flood currents in Bolan River,” a spokesman for the SSGC said. It will take four to five days to repair, he said.

Heavy landslides were also reported at N-65 in the Bolan area after a downpour lashed the Kachhi district. It suspended traffic between Mach and Sibi. However, NHA officials said the boulders were removed from the highway and traffic was restored.

Officials said that 13 people were swept away in flash floods that hit Loralai, Qila Saifullah, Duki, Harnai and Jhal Magsi areas of Balochistan. Seven members of a family who were swept away in Loralai were rescued by rescue workers and levies after five hours of hectic efforts.

Similarly, in the Alanbar area of Duki district, five persons were swept away in a seasonal stream while crossing the flood water. Four people were rescued while one was missing so far. Officials said that one person was also missing after he was swept away by strong flood currents in Jhal Magsi, Nasirabad division. According to Irrigation officials 84,000 cusecs flood water passed through the Nari Gaj River in the Sibi area, while 11,000 cusecs flood water was recorded in the Bolan River at Pingra Bridge. “All rivers and seasonal streams were in high flood,” a senior official of the Irrigation department said, adding that Mushkaf and Sani’s rivers were also carrying 6,000 cusecs of flood water each. Meanwhile, the PDMA-Balochistan warned fishermen against going fishing for at least the next 48 hours. However, according to the locals, the situation in Gwadar district was normal and no sign of a cyclone was witnessed in Balochistan waters and fishermen went fishing on Friday.

Across Lahore, 31mm of average rainfall was reported across different places in the city in three spells. In Samundri, Faisalabad, two siblings lost their lives while five others, including four women, were injured in two separate roof collapse incidents due to heavy rain. A young boy, Saifullah, drowned in Bhimbar Nullah near Khawaspur, Lalamusa after heavy rainfall that raised water levels.

In Bahawalpur division, roofs of houses collapsed killing three while seven others were injured during the last 24 hours. Six people, including three women, died in different parts of Bahawalnagar district. Similarly, tragedy struck a family when a brother and sister died as a result of a roof collapse in Faisalabad.

Similarly, rain triggered a landslide causing heavy boulders to hit a house in Ramyal village in the Patrak area in the Upper Dir district late Thursday night, killing 12 people of the same family, residents and police said. As many as 12 bodies were retrieved from the debris. The incident occurred after torrential rains flooded the Panjkora River. The administration issued an alert for people living on the banks of the river. Deputy Commissioner Naveed Akbar and District Police Officer Waqar Ahmad Khan visited the family and distributed cheques of Rs12 million among the heirs of the deceased.

Meanwhile, several tourists were stranded in Kumrat, Thandiani, after landslides and floods washed away a portion of the road in the valley. At least two houses were destroyed due to a landslide at Gali Banian on Thandiani Road. The heavy rain caused landslides on the Thandiani Road at Gali Banyan, which also blocked the Abbottabad-Thandiani Road. A rescue operation was underway. The district administration suspended traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan following the dislocation of a recently installed bridge at Manor Stream in Mahandri. The steel bridge developed cracks after boulders crashed and dislocated it following flash floods. The Frontier Works Organisation has started repairing the affected portion of the bridge. Motorists, passenger vehicles and tourists en route to neighbouring Gilgit-Baltistan were restricted from moving beyond Balakot.

Meanwhile, the fresh spell of monsoon rain which started early on Thursday continued intermittently in Mansehra, Torghar, Kolai-Palas, Lower Kohistan and Upper Kohistan districts for the second consecutive day. Also, flash floods at Mroi Gol in Lower Chitral have blocked the traffic to Upper Chitral. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA-KPK) said that so far 68 people have been killed, and 117 injured in the province from rain-related incidents since the beginning of the monsoon.

Meanwhile, in India, three more people died in Gujarat overnight from rain-related incidents, taking the toll to 31 this week, and authorities evacuated more than 8,700 people from ten districts in the state over the last 24 hours, officials said. “There is severe water logging in several places in Kutch district due to heavy rains over the last couple of days. We evacuated people from coastal areas and shifted them to schools and other facilities,” the district collector of the Kutch district, Amit Arora, said. Both Das and Arora said the effect of the cyclonic storm was likely to lessen in Gujarat as the storm moves from land to sea. “Wind speeds have fallen to 40-50 kmph,” Arora said.