KARACHI – The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has reported that Cyclone Biparjoy, which struck India’s Gujarat coast close to the Pakistani border on Thursday, weakened into a depression by Saturday morning, making it safe for fishermen in Balochistan and Sindh to go deep into the sea.
With winds blowing up to 125 kph, Biparjoy, a Bengali word meaning “calamity”, had ploughed into Gujarat, tearing off roofs and uprooting trees and power lines.
Before the cyclone hit land, at least six fatalities were recorded in India as a result of cyclone-related incidents.
Pakistan, at the same time, was largely spared from the storm’s impact and there were no fatalities here. Water levels did, however, rise in several coastal regions.
More than 180,000 people left this stretch before Biparjoy struck both nations as officials rushed to remove residents from danger zones.
Biparjoy made landfall as a Category 1 cyclone after being a Category 3 storm in the Arabian Sea, according to a previous statement by the PMD.
In its most recent statement, the PMD noted that it had migrated farther northeast during the previous 12 hours from Tharparkar, Pakistan, and Rann of Kutch, India, and that it was currently lying over southwest Rajasthan, India, and Tharparkar, Pakistan.
The PMD predicted that the weather system will likely travel farther east and diminish into a low-pressure region over Rajasthan. “The associated maximum sustained surface winds are [blowing] at] 30-40km/hour, gusting 50km/hour,” it stated.
The PMD expected further rain and thunderstorms in Tharparkar, Umerkot, and parts of the Badin, with a few heavy falls and strong gusts of 30 to 40 km/h.
In addition, the prediction said that Thatta, Sujawal and Mirpurkhas districts will see rain and thunderstorm.
According to the PMD, fishermen of Balochistan and Sindh can begin their activities.
Earlier, when Sindh returned to normalcy after Biparjoy dissipated, officials in Karachi relaxed the ban on going into the sea. Shops and marketplaces gradually resumed activity in Thatta, some 50km from the coast, amid grey sky and a chilly coastal air.
A few stores had opened on Friday as the encroaching saltwater began to recede in the fishing port of Keti Bandar, which was predicted to be the storm’s worst victim.
Even fishermen in Keti Bandar eventually began returning to their bamboo-built homes near the jetty.
Cyclone Biparjoy: Here s everything about the name, speed and when will it hit Pakistan?
