Cyclone Biparjoy now 600km away from Karachi

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said Cyclone Biparjoy over the east-central Arabian Sea was now roughly 600 kilometres south of Karachi's coast. "The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (ESCS) “Biparjoy” over east-central Arabian Sea has moved further northward during last 12 hours and now lies near Latitude 19.5°N & Longitude 67.7°E at a distance of about 600km south of Karachi, 580km south of Thatta and 710km southeast of Ormara," read the alert issued on Monday morning. The weather service added that the maximum sustained surface winds are around 160-180 km/h and gusting up to 200 km/h around the system's centre and "sea conditions being phenomenal around the system canter with maximum wave height 35-40 feet". "The favourable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 30-31°C, low vertical wind shear & upper-level divergence) are supporting the system to maintain its severity. NEOC Update:Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm #BiparjoyCyclone Dev path based on intl weather models is for proactive measures against likely impacts. It's evolving sit&impact will only be certain w/ further devplt of sys. Source:Zoom Earth,Disaster Aware محتاط رہیں - محفوظ رہیں pic.twitter.com/FSKd7rkXtc — NDMA PAKISTAN (@ndmapk) June 12, 2023 "Under the existing upper-level steering winds, the ESCS Biparjoy is most likely to track further Northward until June 14 morning, then recurve Northeastward and cross between Keti Bandar (Southeast Sindh) and Indian Gujarat coast on June 15 afternoon as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS). "PMD’s cyclone warning centre, Karachi is continuously monitoring the system and will issue update accordingly," it added. Read Cyclone: coastal areas put on high alert Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah visited the coastline of Sajawal in view of the hurricane. Municipalities Minister Nasir Shah, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, DG PDMA Salman Shah were also present on this occasion. The chief minister made an aerial inspection of the coastline of Sajawal, Thatta and Badin. Taking in the severity of the situation, the CM said "high-speed winds can damage loose and weak structures, especially mud houses". "Thatta, Sajawal and Badin are under threat, so I have sent Commissioner Hyderabad to evacuate people if necessary," he said adding that Commissioner Karachi has also been instructed to secure the billboards. "Due to the impact of the storm, there will be a 4 to 5-meter flood in the sea and the water will come very far," he said, "residents have been evacuated from Badin's zero point village. "50 thousand people will be evacuated from the villages near the sea of Shah Bandar, Jati and Keti Bandar," he CM revealed, "2,000 people have been evacuated from the islands of Shahbandar at night and moved to a safe place." Earlier Adviser to Chief Minister of Sindh, Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui, said that "health department, PDMA and [local] administration have been directed to ensure that all facilities are available in case of any emergency." CM Sindh is visiting the coastal areas of Sindh to oversee the preparations that have been made to deal with the cyclone expected to hit our province. Health dept, PDMA & Administration have been directed to ensure that all facilities are available in case of any emergency — Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui (@murtazawahab1) June 12, 2023 Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in a tweet urged all citizens to stay alert adding that evolving situations and the impact of the cyclone "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. Thousands of people have been evacuated from villages near the coast in view of the possibility of the cyclone hitting Keti Bandar.