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People urged to stay away from shorelines as Cyclone Biparjoy now 760km away from Karachi
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday urged people to stay away from shorelines as Cyclone Biparjoy, which is heading towards the coastal areas of Pakistan and India, lay at a distance of about 760 kilometres south of Karachi.
According to state-run Radio Pakistan, the NDMA also called on people to follow local authorities’ guidance in any emergency situation. Over the past few days, the Karachi commissioner has banned entry to the beaches in Karachi, as well as fishing, sailing, swimming, and bathing at seas within the territorial limit of Karachi owing to the threat from today till the end of the storm.
It came as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) in its daily forecast located the cyclone near latitude 18.1°N and longitude 67.5°E, and said the system is “likely to keep tracking further in the north-northeast direction during next 24 hours”.
The PMD added that the cyclone will then recurve northeastward on June 14 and cross between Keti Bandar (southeast Sindh) and the Indian Gujrat coast. The forecast noted that “dust-raising/gusty winds are expected in central/southern districts of the country” on Sunday and Monday afternoon.
Dawn correspondent Asim Khan reported a considerable number of people were present at Karachi’s seaview despite the government’s directives to stay away from the shore.
Meanwhile, the NDMA quoted the Pacific Disaster Centre stating that around 1.38 million people from both Pakistan and India were exposed to the cyclone, of which 305,755 were among the vulnerable population.
It added the cyclone had sustained winds of 185km per hour with gusts as high as 232km/h.
The PDC’s website further said the system is “forecast to remain on a generally northward trajectory through 72 hours, after which the bulk of the guidance indicates an eastward turn, while a few rebels still shift westward”.
According to Zoom Earth’s live radar, a slight change in the system’s forecasted track is noticeable. The new projected route shows the cyclone heading towards the Indian coastline, compared to yesterday’s prediction of heading towards Pakistan’s coastal cities.
Although, large parts of the Sindh coast remain in the cyclone’s “cone of uncertainty”.
The NDMA has also urged people to stay away from shorelines and follow local authorities; guidance in any emergency situation, Radio Pakistan reported.
It quoted an NDMA spokesperson as saying that sustained winds of 150km per hour were around the system’s centre.
Separately, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the provincial government is “completely monitoring the situation of weather in coastal areas”.
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