Cyclone Biparjoy makes landfall in India.

Friday, June 16, 2023 09:25 (GMT+7)

(VNA) – Cyclone Biparjoy, bringing heavy rain and strong winds, has made landfall in the Kutch and Saurashtra areas of Gujarat state, India. Preliminary statistics as of the morning of June 16 (local time) indicate at least two deaths and more than 20 injuries.

Typhoon Biparjoy began making landfall on the evening of June 15th, with wind speeds exceeding 100 km/h. Preliminary statistics as of the morning of June 16th (local time) indicate at least two deaths and over 20 injuries. Additionally, more than 500 trees were felled, many livestock perished, and power poles were knocked down in numerous areas, leaving 940 villages without electricity.

More than 100,000 people have been evacuated in India and Pakistan ahead of Cyclone Biparjoy, a storm whose name means "catastrophe" in Bengali, expected to make landfall on the evening of June 15. Strong winds, storm surges, and heavy rains are forecast to batter the 325-kilometer stretch of coastline between Mandvi in India's Gujarat state and Karachi in Pakistan.

CC Patel, an official in charge of relief operations in Gujarat state (India), said: "More than 47,000 people in coastal and low-lying areas have been evacuated to storm shelters."

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Climate Change Minister, Sherry Rehman, confirmed that 82,000 people had been evacuated from the country's southeastern coast. Pakistan has set up 75 tent camps in schools to provide shelter for people affected by the storm.

Ms. Rehman added that Pakistani authorities had previously warned fishermen not to go out to sea and small aircraft to land due to potential flooding in Karachi, a megacity with a population of around 20 million.

Indian meteorologists warned the storm could cause widespread damage, severely impacting crops and disrupting road and rail transport. Meanwhile, Pakistan's weather forecasting agency predicted wind speeds of up to 140 km/h and waves reaching 3.5 meters as the storm swept through Sindh province in the southeast of the country.

Storms are frequent and cause significant damage to the northern Indian Ocean coastal region, home to tens of millions of people. Climate change is believed to be one of the factors contributing to the increased frequency and destructiveness of some of the strongest storms in recent years.

Last year, many areas in Pakistan were also severely flooded during a major natural disaster, submerging one-third of the country, damaging 2 million homes, and killing more than 1,700 people.

KG (according to Indian Today, The Indian Express, The Guardian)

Source link