India, Pakistan to evacuate 100,000 as cyclone Biparjoy approaches
New Delhi/Islamabad, Jun 13 (EFE).- India and Pakistan have already evacuated around 40,000 people from coastal regions that fall in the projected path of the cyclone Biparjoy, set to make landfall on Wednesday, with the total number of evacuations expected to touch 100,00 in the two countries together.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Wednesday evening in India’s western state of Gujarat with gusts of up to 145 kph and heavy rains that could cause flooding in coastal areas, the India Meteorological Department said.
Several districts of the state are set to be affected including Kutch, where the authorities have evacuated around 8,000 people and ordered the closure of ports, schools and all fishing activity, Indian health minister Mansukh Mandviya said while supervising preparations in the area.
In the nearby Dwarka area, around 4,500 residents in low-lying and sea-facing areas have been evacuated, district collector Ashok Sharma told EFE.
In the Morbi district, all the villages situated less than five kms away from the coast have been flagged to be at risk and are being evacuated.
Indian home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a meeting with the regional disaster management ministers and called for more extensive planning to deal with natural phenomena that are increasing in intensity and frequency in recent decades.
In Pakistan, authorities in the Sindh province have already evacuated 26,855 people out of the 80,000 considered to be at risk ahead of Biparjoy’s arrival, regional information minister Sharjeel Memon tweeted.
Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan with around 15 million residents, could be hit by floods and power cuts, while the transmission of contagious diseases at the evacuation camps is another possibility that authorities are concerned about.
“Desks have been set up by the health department at relief camps in vulnerable areas to prevent the spread of diseases,” Memon said during a session of the Sindh assembly.
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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