Cyclone Biparjoy: Thousands evacuated from coastal areas in India

A surge of two to three metres could inundate low-lying areas in districts where storm is expected to make landfall

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  A scooter ride amid a dust storm whipped up by strong winds before the arrival of cyclone Biparjoy in Ahmedabad, India. Reuters

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  Sudden rain sends both man and beast running for shelter in Mandvi, Gujarat. EPA

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  A Pakistan security guard blocks access to a beach as Biparjoy approached Karachi. EPA

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  Cyclone Biparjoy approaching southern Pakistan. AP

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  Stray dogs roam on the coast of the Arabian Sea in Sindh province, Pakistan. AFP

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  Residents of a camp for internally displaced people queue for free food distributed by volunteers in Sindh province. AP

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  Fishermen anchor a boat on the outskirts in Karachi before Biparjoy made landfall. AFP

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  Wading through water in Sujawal, Sindh province. AFP

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  A quick wash at a temporary camp set up amid warnings over Biparjoy's impact in Badin, Pakistan. EPA

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  A volunteer distributes food to children at a camp for internally displaced people in Badin. AP

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  A flooded street in Mandvi, in the western Indian state of Gujarat. EPA

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  Fishing boats at Juhu Koliwada in Mumbai. Cyclone Biparjoy, the first severe cyclone in the Arabian Sea this year, was expected to hit the Indian and Pakistan coasts. AP

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  Dogs gather as they look for food after they were left behind when everyone was evacuated from Jakhau port. Reuters

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  People evacuated from a village near Jakhau travel to a shelter in Naliya, in India's Gujarat state. AP

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  Evacuated children look out of the window of a school converted into temporary shelter in Naliya, India. EPA

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  Authorities in India’s Gujarat state have evacuated more than 44,000 people from coastal areas. EPA

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  The cyclone was 180km off Jakhau port, in India's Gujarat state, on Thursday morning. EPA

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  Rescue workers prepare after authorities issued a cyclone warning in Karachi, Pakistan. EPA

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  Fishing boats anchored at Juhu Koliwada. AP

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  Fishing boats anchored at Juhu Koliwada. AP

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  Police order visitors from the beach after authorities issued a warning for Cyclone Biparjoy, in Karachi, Pakistan. EPA

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  Residents leave a coastal area of Keti Bandar before the predicted arrival of Cyclone Biparjoy, in Sindh province, Pakistan. AFP

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  People at a shelter in Gandhidham, India, after leaving Kandla port to avoid Cyclone Biparjoy. AP

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  People flee coastal areas after cyclone warnings in Keti Bandar, Sindh province, Pakistan. EPA

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  High tides splashing on the sea front at a beach in Karachi before the onset of Cyclone Biparjoy. AFP

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  Children prepare to leave the coastal area of Golarchi in Badin district, Pakistan. AP

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  Women and children shelter in a school building after fleeing their villages in Sindh province, Pakistan. AP

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  A temporary shelter at a school in Gopalpuri, India. EPA

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  Lorries and other heavy vehicles at the Central Warehousing Corporation in Gandhidham, where the cyclone is expected to hit the Gujarat coast. EPA

Authorities in India’s western Gujarat state have evacuated more than 44,000 people from coastal areas and moved them to temporary shelters as the state braces for Cyclone Biparjoy.

The storm in the east-central Arabian Sea, about 350km south-west of Porbanda, was expected to make landfall on Thursday, bringing with it heavy rainfall, gusty winds and a coastal storm surge in parts of India and Pakistan.

The Indian Meteorological Department said the cyclone was likely to move north-eastwards and cross Saurashtra and Kutch districts in Gujarat and adjoining coasts of Pakistan on Thursday.

“It is likely to move as a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135kph gusting to 150kph,” the department said on Wednesday.

The federal weather agency said that a storm surge of two to three metres could inundate the low-lying areas of districts during the time of landfall.

Extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds in the region have been predicted and people have been advised to stay indoors.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday spoke to the military commanders and reviewed the preparedness of the Armed Forces for the landfall.

An official in front of a TV screen displaying satellite images of Cyclone Biparjoy at the National Disaster Management Authority monitoring room in Islamabad on Wednesday. AFP

“The armed forces are ready to provide every possible assistance to civil authorities in tackling any situation or contingency due to the cyclone,” Mr Singh said.

As many as 17 teams from the National Disaster Response Force and a dozen teams of state disaster forces, 115 teams of state road and building department workers and 397 teams from the state electricity department have been stationed in eight districts across the state.

At least 69 trains have been cancelled and 32 trains were terminated short of their destination because of the inclement weather.

At least seven people, three in Kutch, including two children, and four others in Mumbai in neighbouring Maharashtra state, have drowned due to rough seas caused by the brewing cyclone.

In Pakistan's Sindh province, 64,000 people have been evacuated.

Sharjeel Inam Memon, the province's information minister, said about 86 per cent of those requiring evacuation had been relocated to safer areas.

The minister from the Pakistan People's Party stated that the provincial government was continuing efforts to evacuate additional citizens, with elected representatives from his party actively present on the ground, working in co-ordination with the provincial administration.

"We have left everything in our houses and came out to save lives," Ghulam Rehman, from the Keti Bandar port area, told The National.

"Most of our villagers are daily wage earners, and we used to go to the sea for fishing, but it has been banned for a few days, which has made our lives worse."

"We have been at the camp for the last two days, and we are worried about our houses because they will be destroyed in the cyclone," added Mr Raheem.

Sardar Sarfraz, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, told The National that the cyclone had moved north-northwestward over the past six hours and is located about 340km south-southwest of Karachi, 355km south-southwest of Thatta and 275km south-southwest of Keti Bandar.

“Widespread wind-dust storms, thunderstorms and rainfall” are expected in several districts of Sindh, including Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparker, Mirpurkhas and Umerkot, during the period of June 14 to 17, he added.

The Pakistani Navy in a statement said that troops had evacuated 700 people from various villages in Shah Bandar and 64 fishermen had been rescued from the sea.

“A cyclone monitoring cell is activated at Headquarters Commander Karachi whereas PN Joint Maritime Information Co-ordination Centre is relaying information at regular intervals to all stakeholders especially fishermen community,” it said in a statement.

Naval emergency response and medical teams have been deployed in coastal areas of Balochistan and rural areas of Sindh, including Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur and Sanghar, while naval ships were maintaining vigilance in the open sea, it added.