India and Pakistan braced for 'very severe' Cyclone Biparjoy landfall

Authorities warn of destruction and crop damage

Waves hit the Arabian Sea coast in Mumbai on Tuesday. AP

Authorities in India and Pakistan evacuated tens of thousands of people from coastal areas on Tuesday as the “very severe” Cyclone Biparjoy looms.

The India Meteorological Department said that the cyclone had weakened from "extreme" to "very severe" amid forecasts that it will make landfall near Jakhau port in Gujarat’s Kutch region.

The Gujarat government said that more than 20,000 people were moved to safer places from several districts that could bear the brunt of the cyclone.

It said the evacuations included 500 people from Junagadh district, 6,786 from Kutch, 1,500 from Jamnagar, 543 from Porbandar, 4,820 from Dwarka, 408 from Gir-Somnath, 2,000 from Morbi and 4,031 from Rajkot.

Pakistan’s Sindh province disaster management body said more than 37,000 people had been evacuated from its coastal areas.

Schools and other government facilities have been converted into relief camps, Sindh’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority representative Salman Shah told The National.

Death toll already on the rise

Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of meteorology at the IMD, warned of the destruction of thatched houses, uprooting of power and communication poles, damage to roads, disruption of railways and damage to standing crops.

“The cyclone is still dangerous and we can expect large-scale damage. Wind speed would be 125kph to 135kph crossing to 150kph at the time of landfall,” Mr Mohapatra said.

At least three people, including two children, were killed in India's Kutch district due to the strong wind.

Two cousins, aged four and six, were killed after a wall collapsed due to the wind, while a woman on a motorbike died after a tree fell on her.

District collector Amit Arora said school buildings were converted into shelters to accommodate evacuees.

“There are 120 villages along 10km of the coastline and some 21,000 residents,” Mr Arora told The National.

"We have evacuated 7,000 people so far and we will complete the evacuation of the rest by this evening.

“We have made arrangements for food, water and medicine, and milk for the children.”

The Indian weather office said the cyclone will move north until midnight on Tuesday, then move north-north-east and cross Saurashtra and Kutch districts, which have oil refineries and major ports, and then into Pakistan.

The districts of Jamnagar and Devbhumi Dwarka have two of the biggest oil refineries while Kutch has the Mundra Port — India’s biggest and busiest - owned by billionaire Gautam Adani.

Adani Ports and Logistics Ltd on Monday suspended vessel operations at Mundra and Tuna ports.

Four teenage boys drowned in the sea on Monday at Mumbai’s Juhu Koliwada beach after they ignored high tides and rough sea warnings.

The coastal city along the Arabian Sea in neighbouring Maharashtra state has been pounded by heavy rains and gusty winds.

Sardar Sarfaraz from Pakistan's Meteorological Department said that cyclones occur annually in the area, usually without crossing the coastal belt, unlike Biparjoy.

He said Biparjoy is an "exact replica" of a 1999 catastrophic cyclone that killed more than 6,000.

"The storm originated in approximately the same location, is moving at a similar pace, and is projected to make landfall at Keti Bandar, just like the cyclone in 1999," Mr Sarfaraz said.

“The cyclone is currently heading north-west, posing a greater threat to the Indian side."

In Pakistan, “Thatta and Sujawal ports are particularly vulnerable due to their proximity to the Indian region", Mr Sarfaraz added.

Mr Shah said the “health department has established desks at relief camps in vulnerable regions to prevent the spread of diseases".

The evacuation is currently underway in Sindh, but Mr Shah said some people were reluctant to leave their homes. He urged citizens to co-operate with officials.