In some districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday, 28 people were killed and 145 injured due to the deadly storm. Emergency has been imposed in Bannu, Kirk, Lucky Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan hospitals while Pakistan Army teams are engaged in relief work in the affected areas. There are reports that 9 people have died due to strong wind and heavy rain from areas adjacent to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Punjab.

Although there was an advance warning of strong winds and rain by the Meteorological Department, the intensity of the storm proved to be more than expected.

Developed countries are largely capable of dealing with such situations thanks to modern technology that minimizes the loss of human lives, but the ground realities of the homeland are completely different.

On the other hand, the storm called Biparjoy in the Arabian Sea has intensified during the last twelve hours, which is currently 600 km away from Karachi.

According to the information released by the Meteorological Department, it is not yet clear where it will turn, but it will hit the coasts of Makran and Oman as well as Sindh and Indian Gujarat, with winds of up to 130 km per hour.

The possibility of heavy raining is being shown.

The authorities, both federal and provincial, besides expressing regret for the loss of precious human lives due to heavy rains, has directed emergency measures in advance for the fast-threatening cyclone.

The Sindh government has imposed Section 144 in the coastal areas, but at the individual level also, it is mandatory to take personal protective measures in emergency situations for which full awareness should be provided by the government.

Meanwhile, the Met Office has forecast heavy rains in Karachi and parts of Sindh from today’s night.

 It also said that from today the winds would start blowing from south or southwest  due to which temperature can rise and then there will be subsequent rains.

Most disturbingly, the forecast of windstorm in Karachi has scared the Karachiites as the mega city is known for display of high billboards and sign boards which need to be taken care off during the windstorm. Billboards have not been removed from the buildings of Karachi till now.

However, in view of the storm, Seaview Road was closed from the local restaurant to Khayaban-e-Ittihad, access to the beach was prohibited.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, paid an aerial visit to check the coastline along Sujawal, Badin and Thatta to review the safety measures by PDMA.

The cyclone is said to be capable to inundate the lowing areas along the coastal belt and in that case emergency measures are needed.

The fishermen communities need to be shifted to safe zones as also care need to be taken of other people loving in low-lying localities of Thatta, Badin etc.

Th PDM has issued the following alert:  the system is nearing towards southeast Sindh coast and the PDM warns the residents that “widespread wind-dust/thunderstorm rain with some very heavy/extremely heavy showers together with squally winds of 80-100km/hour” may occur in Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Umar Kot and Tharparker between June 13 to June 17.

As far as Karachi is concerned, the PDM warned  that “dust/thunderstorm-rain with few heavy showers and together with squally winds of 60-80km/h” may hit the mega city of Karachi and also  Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allayar, Shaheed Benazirabad and Sanghar districts.

In the wake of intensity of the cyclone which is increasing, the city administration has also sealed the Seaview Road which has been blocked for traffic with a view to stop people from going  into the open sea after the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issues fresh alert saying that cyclone Biparjoy has been intensified to the level to be classified as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”, which is only 500km away from the coast.

In view of the storm in Karachi, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has issued an alert and advising that the light aircraft should be moved to a safer zones.

Moreover, the flights were diverted to other airports after the bad weather warning and the flight operations affected due to it. According to the details, the airside department of CAA has alerted the concerned agencies and suggested that the light weight aircrafts should be moved to safe places or tied to something strong and the runways and tarmac areas should be diverted. Nearby items should be moved to a safe place due to the risk of collision. The alert also said to ensure spraying to eliminate various types of insects. And during thunderstorms and strong winds, additional bird shooters should be installed to keep birds away.

CAA has also asked the team to determine the friction/braking action of the runway for safe operation during rain.

Meanwhile, CAA diverted several flights to other airports due to bad weather. According to the statement issued by the spokesperson of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, the bad weather warning at Lahore Airport has been extended.

Meanwhile, the chief secretary of Sindh says that the safety and evacuation of the residents of two or four areas should be ensured from the possible storm. He has directed that the presence of relief teams and necessary equipment should be ensured in all the districts. Chief Secretary Sindh says that the holidays of local bodies should be canceled to deal with any emergency.

He has directed that all Deputy Commissioners should be in touch with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.

Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput has directed the Secretary Health to impose emergency in the hospitals of the cyclone-affected districts.

Published in The Daily National Courier, June, 13 2023

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