Thousands leave as a mega-cyclone approaches.
Tomorrow, Biparjoy, a Category 3 hurricane, will most likely make landfall along the coast of Sindh.
HYDERABAD:
On Tuesday, thousands of people in the coastal towns and small islands of the Thatta, Sujawal, and Badin districts evacuated to higher ground in preparation for the arrival of a fierce cyclone on Thursday (tomorrow) afternoon.
Category 3 “Very Severe Cyclonic Storm” Biparjoy is forecast to make landfall on Thursday night between Karachi and Mandvi in the Indian state of Gujarat, packing sustained winds of 140-150 kilometres per hour (km/h) and gusts of up to 170 kilometres per hour (km/h).
The most recent predictions indicated that the storm will keep moving north until the morning of June 14, when it would then likely re-curve eastward and make landfall between Keti Bandar in Thatta district and the Indian Gujarat coastline.
Experts predicted widespread destruction and loss of life in the areas of Thatta, Badin, Sajawal, Tharparkar, Karachi, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Hyderabad, Ormara, Tando Allahyar, and Tando Mohammad Khan.
Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman told reporters in Islamabad that the military, the navy, the rangers, and the district administrations had begun relocating residents to schools and other government buildings that had been converted into emergency shelters and relief camps.
At the press conference were also Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir and Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik.
They gave an in-depth report of the measures taken to deal with the worsening cyclone at a high-level meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Rehman also noted that hospitals had been placed on high alert and ships and boats had been removed from some coastal areas.
The NDMA chairman estimated that by Wednesday morning, some 100,000 individuals will have been relocated. Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, later reported that as of Tuesday night, 56,985 people had been evacuated from the districts of Thatta, Sajawal, and Badin.
According to a statement released by Chief Minister Shah, 37 relief camps have been set up across the three districts, and thousands of people have voluntarily migrated to these locations.
The most people (13,000) evacuated from the Keti Bandar region, followed by the Ghorabari area (4,500), the Shaheed Fazil Rahu area (19,038), the Badin area (12,300), the Shahbandar area (6,537), the Jati area (8,070), and the Kharo Chhann area (7,935).
The chief minister further stated that relief centers had been established in the following locations: Keti Bandar (7 centers), Ghobadari (3), Shaheed Fazil Rahu (10) centers, Badin (3), Shahbandar (10) centers, and Jati (4) centers.
Ahead of the potential impact of the Biparjoy cyclone, Prime Minister Shehbaz chaired a meeting to evaluate preparations, and he has since ordered the Sindh government, the NDMA, and other relevant organizations to use all available resources to safeguard the people.
In light of the impending storm, the prime minister has issued a directive for the deployment of mobile hospitals to the coast. He also demanded that the camps be supplied with food and potable water.
To guarantee the 24-hour power transmission system in coastal areas is not disrupted, the prime minister ordered Power Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan to remain in the districts of southern Sindh till the cyclone’s effects subsided.
The prime minister has stated that any damage to the power transmission infrastructure caused by the hurricane must be fixed as soon as feasible. There was an emergency, therefore he also formed a committee to handle it.
The group, which would be chaired by the minister for climate change, would include the ministers for power and food security as well as the head of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), as well as representatives from the governments of Sindh and Balochistan, the Meteorological Department, and the National Institutes of Health.
The power minister advised the group that liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies were being delayed or cancelled due to the approaching hurricane.
In order to maintain energy output, we have ordered the gas supply to be redirected to power plants. Wind gusts over 90 kilometers per hour can have an effect on the operation of our wind turbines in Chimb, he said.
He also noted that local and major transmission lines would be negatively affected by the cyclonic winds. In addition, he said, the expanded power infrastructure was just as susceptible as the 2,000 MW in South Thar.
We have a plan in place to handle the loss of electricity. He then told the media that the prime minister and the minister of water resources had approved an increase in power production from Tarbela. Additionally, the oil output of 48-96 hours would be used to generate electricity.
Hesco (Hyderabad Electric electrical Supply Company) was on high alert since it served the area with the most vulnerable electrical infrastructure. “We have restored power infrastructure in the floods in record time, and we will ensure the same during the cyclone,” he promised.
There is the start of rain.
Meanwhile, in the afternoon, light to heavy rains followed by dust storms struck the susceptible districts, prompting a rapid acceleration of the process of abandoning the coastal areas. During the downpour, even areas of the Umerkot district lost power.
The Ladiyun grid station in the Sujawal neighborhood lost power after a pole on the main transmission line collapsed. Union councils in the Badin district including Ahmed Rajo, Seerani, Bhugra Memon, Bahdmi, and Dodo Soomro could be impacted.
Temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) from Shaheed Fazil Rahu, on the other hand, have held a sit-in protest on the main road, stopping traffic, because they are unhappy with the lack of services and food in the camps.
They felt abandoned at the public school camp where they had been staying, with no food or rations. Agha Shahnawaz, the local deputy superintendent of police, mediated talks between the demonstrators and police in order to have the road cleared.
Keti Bunder was the starting point for the exodus from the Thatta neighborhood. Deputy Commissioner Ghulam Farooq Soomro stated that a strategy to evacuate Keti Bunder had been established in advance in case weather conditions deteriorated.
Soomro stated that the administration was providing mosquito nets, water, and cooked meals to the TDPs in the camps. Free medicine and mobile clinics, he said, were also in the works.
Residents of the coastal zone of Shah Bunder, Jati, and Kharo Chhann were evacuated to over a dozen relief camps established up in government schools in Sujawal districts.
On Tuesday, four youngsters perished in choppy waters off the coast of Mumbai, the financial capital of western India. On Monday night, four young boys drowned at Juhu beach. Officials in Mumbai, which is located south of Gujarat, have said that they have discovered the dead of two people.
Authorities said three persons were killed in the Kutch and Rajkot districts of Gujarat as high waves from the Arabian Sea, along with heavy rains and strong winds, slammed the state’s coastal areas.
