KARACHI: Gusty winds howled across the metropolis on Friday, as the swirling tropical storm “Asna” is likely to continue battering Sindh-Makran coast till September 1, the Met Office has said.

The Met’s advisory 4 highlights the cyclonic storm was roaring some 170 kilometers south-southeast of Karachi and 88 kilometers south from Kati Bandar on Friday evening, positioning at around Latitude 23.5 N and Longitude 67.9 E. It is persistently moving initially to west-northwest.

Asna is expected to storm parts of Sindh including Karachi Division, Tharparkar, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, T.M Khan, T.A Yar, Matiari, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Dadu and Shaheed Benazirabad Districts with rains, wind-thunderstorms and some heavy falls till Saturday.

Similarly, the stormy weather may produce widespread rains with wind-thunderstorms and isolated extreme falls in Balochistan’s Hub, Lasbela, Awaran, Keach and Gwadar Districts till September 1. These rains are likely to leave the low lying areas of Sindh-Makran inundated.

The Met has warned the fishermen of squally winds reaching speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour, which are anticipated to cause turbulence in sea conditions, making it highly rough. The storm may also produce winds up to 80 kilometers an hour.

It advised the fishermen in Sindh to stay ashore until August 30, while those in Balochistan should avoid venturing out to sea until September 1, as Asna is expected to dissipate next Monday. It requested to the concerned authorities to follow the Met’s advisories on the storm.

The prevailing storm is anticipated to reduce into a tropical depression in the next 48 hours, which is presently heading towards Gwadar-Oman directions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024