More than 150,000 people in India and Pakistan have been evacuated from the path of a fierce cyclone a day before it is expected.
Forecasters have warned that ‘Cyclone Biparjoy’ meaning ‘disaster’ in Bengali could destroy homes and crops.
Biparjoy has been travelling across the Arabian Sea and is anticipated to make landfall in Gujarat, India, on Thursday night local time.
Heavy rains in India have already claimed the lives of at least seven individuals.
According to the AFP news agency, the victims include a woman riding a motorcycle who was struck by a falling tree and two toddlers who were crushed by a crumbling wall.
The storm is anticipated to hit Pakistan’s Sindh province’s coastline. The government has already established 75 relief camps at schools and evacuated 81,000 people from the southeast coast.
Karachi, the largest metropolis in the province with a population of more than 20 million, is not currently in danger, but emergency steps are being taken, according to Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman.
The “very severe cyclonic storm” was packing sustained winds with speeds up to 135 km (84 miles) per hour, and gusting up to 150 km (93 miles) per hour, meteorologists said. They have also warned high tides could inundate low-lying areas along the coasts.
Several parts of coastal Gujarat have witnessed heavy rains and high-speed winds since Wednesday.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall near the Jakhau port between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan between 4 pm (10.30GMT) and 8 pm local time, Gujarat’s weather chief said.
On Thursday morning, strong winds and rough sea conditions were reported in Mandvi.
The Jakahu Port, usually bustling with activity and inhabited by fishermen, wore a deserted look because the entire village near the shoreline has been relocated.
Gujarat state officials said 67,000 people had been evacuated from coastal areas.
Trains in the Gujarat region have been suspended while the ports of Kandla and Mundra – two of the largest in India – have stopped operations, authorities said.
Fishing has been suspended along the Gujarat coast, while fishermen in Pakistan’s coastal region have also been warned to stay off the water.
Six national disaster relief teams have been deployed in key concern areas in the Kutch region of Gujarat for relief work. They say the priority will be to ensure essential services remain unaffected or at least restored at the earliest depending on how hard the cyclone hits.
The India Meteorological Department expects Biparjoy to “fall in intensity” after crossing.
Cyclone Tauktae in May 2021 was the last severe cyclone that struck the same region. It killed 174 people.
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