BENGALURU, India
Pakistan’s army and civil authorities are planning to evacuate 80,000 people to safety along the southern coast, and thousands in neighboring India sought shelter ahead of Cyclone Biparjoy, which is forecast to slam ashore in the densely populated region later this week, officials said Tuesday.
The cyclone is likely the most
powerful to hit western India and Pakistan since 2021, and follows devastating
floods that ravaged Pakistan last year, leaving 1,739 people dead and $30
billion in losses.
Biparjoy was packing maximum
sustained winds of 180 kph (111 mph), according to the India Meteorological
Department. It’s projected to hit land on Thursday near Jakhau port in the
Kutch district of Gujarat. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority
said the cyclone was 470 kilometers (292 miles) south of Karachi, the capital
of Sindh province, on Tuesday morning.
In India, thousands were
evacuated from low-lying regions, including residents living within 5
kilometers (3 miles) of the coast in Gujarat. Those within 10 kilometers (6.2
miles) of the coast might be moved over the next two days if required,
officials said.
“We have shifted 20,580 people
from Gujarat’s coastal districts and moved them to relief camps where they will
be provided with food, drinking water and other essential material,” said C. C.
Patel, director of relief in the Gujarat state government.
Authorities also banned
gatherings along the beaches and shorelines during the cyclone. All ports,
including two of India’s largest, Mundra and Kandla, have been shut down as a
precaution. In Mumbai, in the neighboring state of Maharasthra, beaches were
closed during high tide.
Fishermen in both countries
have been asked to stay ashore and move their boats to safer locations.
On Monday evening, India’s
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he chaired a meeting to review the
preparedness. “Our teams are ensuring safe evacuations from vulnerable areas
and ensuring maintenance of essential services. Praying for everyone’s safety
and well-being,” he tweeted.
In Pakistan, authorities backed by the military so far had evacuated 22,000 people from coastal towns, said Sharjeel Memon, the information minister in Sindh province. The rest of the 80,000 people are expected to be moved before the landfall on Thursday.
Experts say climate change is
leading to an increase in cyclones in the Arabian Sea region, making
preparations for natural disasters all the more urgent.
“The oceans have become warmer
already on account of climate change,” said Raghu Murtugudde, Earth system
scientist at the University of Maryland. He said a recent study shows that the
Arabian Sea has warmed up by almost 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees
Fahrenheit) since March this year, making conditions favorable for severe
cyclones.
A 2021 study found that the
frequency, duration and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea had increased
significantly between 1982 and 2019, he said.
U.N. climate reports have also
stated that the intensity of tropical cyclones would increase in a warmer
climate. A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2019
found that since the 1950s, the fastest sea surface warming has occurred in the
Indian Ocean.
Cyclone
Tauktae in 2021 was the last severe cyclone that made landfall in the
same region. It claimed 174 lives, a relatively low figure thanks to extensive
preparations ahead of the cyclone.
In 1998, a cyclone that hit
Gujarat claimed more than 1,000 lives and caused excessive damage. A cyclone
that hit Sindh province and the city of Karachi in 1965 killed more than 10,000
people.
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