Strong winds cause damage in Karachi as storm system intensifies into Cyclone Asna

A woman was killed in Karachi on Friday with heavy rains and strong winds causing infrastructure damage as the port city braced for the impact of a potential cyclone named ‘Asna’ that emerged along the Sindh coastline. As of 11pm PST on Friday night, Asna was located 167 km south-southwest of Karachi.

As per the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) alert issued earlier in the day, the deep depression (a very strong low-pressure area) was poised to intensify further into a rare Cyclonic Storm (CS) on Friday afternoon/evening – a rare development in the month of August.

“The system is likely to keep moving further west/southwestwards in northeast Arabian Sea along Sindh coast”.

“Under its influence, widespread rain/wind-thunderstorms with scattered heavy/very heavy and isolated extremely heavy falls likely in Karachi division, Tharparker, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, T.M Khan, T.A Yar, Matiari, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Dadu & Shaheed Benazirabad districts till 31 August,” the PMD said.

Cyclone likely to form over Arabian Sea today

Heavy rains and stormy winds also began in the afternoon and Rescue 1122 officials said some incidents of damage had been reported.

“Trees have fallen in four separate areas,” Rescue 1122 stated.

At the stadium road in Karachi, one woman died after a tree fell on her, according to Rescue 1122.

Video footage also showed damage in Karachi’s Tariq Road area with officials helping people trapped inside a vehicle. No loss of life had been reported in the incident.

The Met office had said that heavy rains may create water logging/rain inundation in low lying areas of Sindh-Makran coast while sea conditions are likely to remain rough/very rough with squally winds 50-60 Km/hour gusting 70Km/hour.

“Fishermen of Sindh are advised not to venture into sea till 31 August and those of Balochistan till 1st September.”

Karachi Commissioner Hassan Naqvi had earlier ordered that all public and private schools in the city be closed on Friday (today) due to the anticipated heavy rain.

The decision was made after consultation with the Met Office and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), according to a statement issued by the Karachi Commissioner.

Thousands evacuated as cyclone builds off India and Pakistan’s coast

Parts of Karachi received 147 mm (5.79 inches) of rain overnight, the local weather office said, while the city’s mayor, Murtaza Wahab, in a post on X, asked residents to avoid “unnecessary movement”.

The formation of a cyclonic storm over the Arabian Sea in August was a rare occurrence, the Indian Express newspaper reported, saying the last such storm was in 1964.