Thousands evacuated in India and Pakistan as cyclone approaches

BENGALURU — Pakistan's army and civil authorities are planning to evacuate 80,000 people to safety along the southern coast, and thousands in neighboring India sought shelter ahead of Cyclone Biparjoy, which is forecast to slam ashore in the densely populated region later this week, officials said Tuesday.

The cyclone is likely the most powerful to hit western India and Pakistan since 2021, and follows devastating floods that ravaged Pakistan last year, leaving 1,739 people dead and $30 billion in losses.

Biparjoy was packing maximum sustained winds of 180 kph, according to the India Meteorological Department. It's projected to hit land on Thursday near Jakhau port in the Kutch district of Gujarat.

Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority said the cyclone was 470 kilometers south of Karachi, the capital of Sindh Province, on Tuesday morning.

Fishermen in both countries have been asked to stay ashore and move their boats to safer locations.

In India, thousands were evacuated from low-lying regions, including residents living within 5 kilometers of the coast in Gujarat. Those within 10 kilometers of the coast might be moved over the next two days if required, officials said.

"We have shifted 20,580 people from Gujarat's coastal districts and moved them to relief camps," said C.C. Patel, director of relief in the Gujarat state government.

In Pakistan, authorities evacuated 22,000 people from coastal towns, said Sharjeel Memon, the information minister in Sindh Province. The rest of the 80,000 people are expected to be moved before the cyclone's landfall on Thursday.

Pakistan's climate change minister, Sherry Rehman, told a news conference Tuesday in Islamabad that the cyclone was expected to hit some of the districts where last summer's floods killed thousands.

Cyclone Tauktae in 2021 was the last severe cyclone that made landfall in the same region, which claimed 174 lives.

Agencies Via Xinhua