Cyclone Biparjoy left 4 dead, 5 injured in Pakistan, says UN
Islamabad, Jun 20 (EFE).- Four people were killed and five others injured in Pakistan by the passage of Cyclone Biparjoy that hit the southern coast of the country last week, the United Nations reported Tuesday.
The cyclone, which led to the evacuation of more than 85,000 people, caused a trail of destruction in which thousands of houses were damaged.
“The gusty winds and heavy rains brought by Cyclone Biparjoy resulted in 4 fatalities, 5 injuries, 2,460 houses partially damaged, and 190 houses fully damaged,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Pakistan (OCHA) said in a statement.
The cyclone made landfall near Pakistan’s border in the western Indian state of Gujarat, where two people died, before weakening into a very severe cyclone storm.
This loss of intensity caused it to have a “minimal” impact on Pakistan according to the UN agency, which announced that the nearly 85,000 people who were evacuated have already returned to their homes.
“Relief camps for evacuees have been closed, and 84,610 people have been repatriated to their villages,” said OCHA.
The cyclone was accompanied by strong winds with a sustained maximum speed of up to 120 kilometers per hour, heavy rains and flash floods.
A large number of cattle, farmlands and infrastructure were affected.
More than 150,000 were evacuated by the authorities of India and Pakistan against the imminent arrival of the cyclone.
Cyclones are common on the Indian coast. In 2021, Cyclone Tauktae hit India’s western coast leaving at least 145 people dead. In neighboring Pakistan a cyclone in 1999 killed more than 6,000 people. EFE
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