KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department on Thursday advised the concerned authorities to remain alert in wake of widespread rain and strong windstorm, wherein they predicting a cyclone along the Sindh-Makran coast.
This alert comes a day after the PDM expected torrential rain and squally winds in various places of Sindh and Balochistan during the next two to three days.
“The system is likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm during the next 24 hours and move northwestwards,” the alert said.
Under the influence of the system, widespread rain, wind thunderstorms with scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall and squally winds were likely in Karachi, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Thaparker, Umerkot, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Nausheroferoz, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allayar, Dadu, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Larkana, Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Ghotki districts from Thursday afternoon till late evening on Oct 2 (Saturday), it added.
Widespread rain, wind thunderstorms with scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely in Gwadar, Lasbela, Awaran, Kech, Khuzdar, Kalat and Panjgur districts of Balochistan from Thursday to Sunday, the department said.
The department predicted that sea conditions would remain rough till Sunday and advised fishermen to refrain from venturing into the water until then.
“Torrential rains may generate urban flooding in Karachi, Badin, Thatta, Hyderabad, Dadu, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Lasbela, Somiani, Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar, Turbat and Jiwani,” the Met department said.
It said that the PMD Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre, Karachi was closely monitoring the system and told authorities concerned to remain on high alert during this period.
A weather official said that the depression in the Arabian Sea has been at a distance of 250 kilometres from Karachi and has further intensified, adding that that the weather conditions are conducive to further intensify the depression into a tropical cyclone.
“Current meteorological assessments indicating the trajectory of the cyclone towards Balochistan’s Makran coast,” the weather official said.
“Widespread rain with moderate to heavy and very heavy falls with strong gusty winds are likely to occur in Karachi from this noon,” the Met Office director said.
The remnants of Cyclone Gulab might intensify and turn into Cyclone Shaheen in the Arabian Sea tomorrow (Friday).
Tracing cyclones’ history in Pakistan, the weather official said the last one which directly hit Pakistan’s coast came in 2007 whereas the 2010 cyclone re-curved towards Gwadar after hitting Oman.
A cyclone in 1999 inundated large coastal areas of Thatta and Badin, causing over 700 deaths.
In this regard, Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh said on Thursday that an emergency should be declared in view of torrential rains in Sindh’s cities, including Karachi.
In view of the advance alert by the Pakistan Meteorological Department, control rooms should be set up to tackle expected cyclones and rains while full information should be provided to the public, he said in a statement. Haleem said that the Sindh government should take immediate steps to deal with the expected flood situation.
He said that the PDMA of the Sindh government was inactive, so high-level government relief committees should be formed at the tehsil level to tackle heavy rains. “The people had to suffer a lot due to the negligence of the Sindh government in the areas affected by heavy rains last year. Last year, crores of funds were embezzled in the name of relief,” he alleged.
He said that the system was in disarray after torrential rains in different cities of Sindh as the provincial government agencies could not take measures despite the prior rain forecasts.
“The people are in trouble due to heavy rains. Sindh government institutions do not care about the people. Emergency should be declared in the affected areas immediately and relief work should be provided. We are with the people of Sindh in this difficult time. PTI office-bearers and workers would take part in immediate relief activities in the affected areas,” he concluded.
Meanwhlie, after the Met office sounded the alarm over an impending storm likely to hit the Karachi coast, the airlines have rescheduled their flights that were to take off today from Karachi.
At least three Pakistan International Airlines domestic flights have been cancelled that were scheduled to take off for three different destinations today.
A Sukkur-bound PK 594, a Lahore-bound PK 304 and a Quetta-bound PK 310 were cancelled today, among other flights from other airlines.
Karachi other coastal areas waiting for heavy rainfall under cyclonic conditions.
Late on Thursday, the Sindh education department announced that all private and government schools and colleges would remain closed on Friday.
The city and adjoining coastal areas anxiously waiting for heavy to very heavy rainfall as predicted by the weather department in the Sindh-Makran coastal belt under the influence of cyclonic weather conditions.
Windy weather prevailing in Karachi as 18 kilometres per hour winds blowing in the city.
The remnants of Cyclone Gulab currently existing as a well-marked low-pressure area over Indian Gujarat at 103 nautical miles distance from the Indian city of Jaffarabad which might intensify and turn into Cyclone Shaheen in the Arabian Sea on Friday.
