Cyclone Biparjoy to hit Keti Bandar at 11am tomorrow: Sherry Rehman

Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Sherry Rehman said on Wednesday that Cyclone Biparjoy, which has slightly moved away from Karachi, will hit Keti Bandar, located in the Thatta district of Sindh, on Thursday at 11am, Aaj News reported.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, and Tharparkar districts would be hit hardest by the cyclone.

Rehman said as many as 66,000 people had been evacuated to safer places from Sindh’s coastal areas so far.

She also asked the people to cooperate with authorities and added that all rescue agencies are prepared for relief operations.

“The true form of the cyclone will be known tomorrow,” she added.

In its latest updates, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said Cyclone Biparjoy had moved away from Karachi and is currently 370 kilometres south of the city.

“Biparjoy over the northeast Arabian Sea moved north-northeastward during the last 06 hours, and now lies near Lat 21.7°N & Long 66.4°E at a distance of about 370km south-southwest of Karachi, 355km south-southwest Thatta and 290km south-southwest of Keti Bandar,” the PMD said in a tweet on Wednesday.

Rehman further said that all state institutions, including Rangers, Maritime Agency, and Coast Guards, are fully cooperating in concerted efforts to evacuate people from the coastal belt.

She said 75 relief camps had been established in different schools and colleges in the areas which could be affected by the cyclone.

Rehman said the concerned authorities also completed the evacuation of the people from the Kacha area to safer places last night.

More than 60,000 evacuated

In a tweet today, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said a total of 64,107 people had been evacuated from vulnerable areas.

‘‘Still, the government is evacuating more people. Elected representatives of PPP and Administration of Sindh government is available on the ground,’’ he tweeted.

Meanwhile, the PMD said widespread wind-dust/thunderstorm rain could be expected, with some very heavy/extremely heavy falls accompanied by squally winds of 80-100Km/hour gusting 120km/hour likely in Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparker, Mirpurkhas & Umerkot districts during June 13-17.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Sindh provincial government, NDMA, and other relevant organisations to utilise all-out resources to ensure people’s protection.

The prime minister, who chaired a meeting to review the preparedness ahead of the possible impact of the cyclone said it was important to ensure the establishment of mobile hospitals in coastal areas and provide adequate emergency medical assistance.

He also set up a committee to deal with the emergency situation.

To be headed by Climate Change Minister Rehman, the committee also includes Power Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan, Food Security Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema, NDMA Chairman Lt-Gen Inam Haider Malik, and representatives of Sindh and Balochistan governments, Meteorological Department and National Institute of Health (NIH).

Cloudburst likely in Karachi

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah expressed fears of a cloudburst in Karachi and urged the public to avoid leaving home unnecessarily.

Moreover, the Sindh government also announced cancelling all examinations from Wednesday (today).