Pakistan
High alert as Cyclone Biparjoy approaches India, Pakistan coasts
The severe cyclonic storm is likely to hit India’s west coast and southern Pakistan later this week.
A storm off India’s western coast has strengthened to become a powerful cyclone biporjoy that could hit India’s Gujarat state and southern parts of Pakistan this week, the weather department says.
The cyclone Biparjoy, is expected to make landfall on Thursday afternoon between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan with a maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135kmph (78-84mph), gusting up to 150kmph (93mph), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Pakistan in a tweet urged all citizens to stay alert adding that evolving situations and the impact of the Cyclone Biparjoy “will only be certain with further development of the weather system”,
The Met department advised fisherfolk to not venture into the open sea “till the system is over by June 17 as the Arabian Sea conditions may get very rough/high accompanied with high tides along the coast”.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has urged citizens to stay away from shorelines as the cyclone — heading towards the coastal areas of Pakistan and India — was likely to intensify during the next 24 hours.
“The cyclone is expected to impact southern and south-eastern parts of Sindh on June 13,” it tweeted.