Cyclone Biparjoy: India, Pakistan Brace For Storm, More Than 170,000 Evacuated

Gusty winds and heavy rains are lashing parts of north-west India and southern Pakistan ahead of a fierce cyclone’s landfall on Thursday.

More than 170,000 people have been evacuated so far.

Forecasters have warned that Cyclone Biparjoy – which means “disaster” in Bengali – could destroy homes and crops in its path.

The landfall process is expected to start after 18:00 local time (12.30 GMT).

The cyclone is set to hit near the Jakhau port between Mandvi in Gujarat and Keti Bandar in Pakistan’s Sindh province.

Pakistan’s disaster management agency has warned of storm surges as high as 3-4m (10-13ft) along the coastline from Karachi to Gujarat.

Alok Pandey, the official in charge of relief operations in Gujarat, said on Thursday that the cyclone’s intensity had reduced but that wind speeds were still expected to be at “very dangerous” levels of around 110-125 km/h at the time of landfall.

At least seven deaths were reported amid heavy rains in India this week. The victims included two children crushed by a collapsing wall, and a woman hit by a falling tree while on a motorbike, AFP news agency reported.

In Pakistan, the storm is expected to strike the coast of Sindh province. Authorities have already evacuated 81,000 people from the south-eastern coast and set up 75 relief camps at schools.

Pakistan’s climate change minister Sherry Rehman said that Karachi, the province’s largest city with a population of more than 20 million, was not under immediate threat but emergency measures were being taken.

Meteorologists warned that high tides could inundate low-lying areas along the coasts.

Several parts of coastal Gujarat have witnessed heavy rains and high-speed winds since Wednesday.

Ahead of the cyclone’s landfall, heavy rains and strong winds were reported in Mandvi. Local media outlets shared videos that showed debris flying amid heavy rains in parts of the state.

Gujarat state officials said that 94,000 people had been evacuated from coastal areas so far.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening local time

Several train services have been suspended in Gujarat, while the ports of Kandla and Mundra – two of India’s largest – have stopped operations, authorities said.

Fishing has been suspended along the Gujarat coast, while fishermen in Pakistan’s coastal region have also been warned to stay off the water.

Eighteen national disaster relief teams and 12 state disaster relief teams have been deployed in key areas of Gujarat for relief work.

They will focus on ensuring that essential services remain unaffected or at least restored soon, depending on how strong the cyclone is.

The India Meteorological Department expects Biparjoy to “fall in intensity” after crossing.

Cyclones, also known as hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, are a regular and deadly phenomenon in the Indian Ocean.

Rising surface temperatures across the Arabian Sea in recent years due to climate change have made the surrounding regions even more vulnerable to devastating storms.

Cyclone Tauktae in May 2021 was the last severe cyclone that struck in the same region. It killed 174 people.