“The sea conditions being phenomenal around the system canter with maximum wave height 35-40 feet. The favorable environmental conditions… are supporting the system to maintain its severity”
KARACHI: Pakistani authorities are on a state of high alert on Monday as cyclone ‘Biparjoy’, categorized as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm (ESCS),” is expected to hit parts of Sindh and Balochistan coastlines in the next 48 to 72 hours.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that the cyclone was about 600 km away from the port city of Karachi where the authorities blocked the Seaview and some other coastal roads for traffic to prevent people from approaching the beaches.
The PMD website in its latest update early Monday said that cyclone Biparjoy — over east-central Arabian Sea — has moved further northward during the last 12 hours and now lies near latitude 19.5°N and longitude 67.7°E at a distance of about 600km south of Karachi, 580km south of Thatta and 710km southeast of Ormara – a Pakistan Navy base in Balochistan province.
Cyclone Biparjoy and Sea Conditions
“Maximum sustained surface winds are 160-180 Km/hour gusts 200 Km/hour around the system center,” the PMD said. “The sea conditions being phenomenal around the system canter with maximum wave height 35-40 feet. The favorable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 30-31°C, low vertical wind shear & upper-level divergence) are supporting the system to maintain its severity,” it added.
“Under the existing upper-level steering winds, Biparjoy is most likely to track further Northward until 14 June morning, then recurve Northeastward and cross between Keti Bandar (Southeast Sindh) and Indian Gujarat coast on 15 June afternoon as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS).”
The PMD’s cyclone warning center, Karachi is continuously monitoring the system and will issue updates accordingly.
Impact of Cyclone Biparjoy
With its probable approach to the southeast Sindh coast, widespread wind-dust and thunderstorm rain with some extremely heavy falls accompanied with squally winds of 80-100Km/hour gusting 120km/hour likely to hit Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas & Umerkot districts during June 13-17.
Dust and thunderstorm-rains with few heavy falls and accompanied with squally winds of 60-80 Km/hour likely in Karachi, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allayar, Shaheed Benazirabad and Sanghar districts from June 14-16.
Squally (high intensity) winds may cause damage to wobbly and vulnerable structures (Kutcha houses), including solar panels etc. Storm surge of 3-3.5 meters (8-12 feet) is expected at the land falling point (Keti Bandar and around) which can inundate the low-lying settlements, the PMD said.
Sindh Chief Minister House in a tweet said that Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah conducted an aerial inspection of the coastline along Sujawal, Badin and Thatta. Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Shah and other senior officials accompanied him.
Murtaza Wahab, a provincial government spokesman and advisor, said that the Sindh CM was visiting the coastal areas of Sindh to oversee preparations made to deal with the cyclone. “The health department, the provincial disaster management authority and the administration have been directed to ensure that all facilities are available in case of any emergency,” he said on Twitter.
