Cyclone Biparjoy threatens India’s Gujarat, Pakistan’s southern coast

A powerful cyclone, named Biparjoy, is set to hit India’s Gujarat state and southern parts of Pakistan, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The cyclone is anticipated to make landfall on Thursday afternoon, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135kmph (78-84mph), gusting up to 150kmph (93mph). The IMD has advised fishing communities to cease operations and evacuate people from the coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions in Gujarat.

Two of India’s largest ports, Mundra and Kandla, are situated in the Gulf of Kutch, while the world’s largest oil refinery complex, the Jamnagar refinery owned by Reliance Industries, is located in the Saurashtra region. Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited announced that operations at its Pipavav Port had been suspended since late Saturday evening due to severe weather conditions.

In preparation for the cyclone, seven teams of India’s National Disaster Response Force and 12 teams of State Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the districts expected to be affected. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel revealed this information via a tweet. Heavy rainfall and gusting winds are predicted to affect nearly a dozen districts in coastal Gujarat, although some of these districts are sparsely populated, which could limit the damage.

In neighbouring Pakistan, the National Disaster Management Authority is issuing precautionary measures for the southern and southeastern parts of the country that are likely to be affected by the cyclone. The authority stated, “Its [the cyclone’s] evolving impact will only be certain with further development of the situation.” Officials from the Sindh provincial government are also preparing to evacuate people from three districts likely to be affected. Sindh is the second most populated province in Pakistan.

The strongest cyclone to hit Pakistan was the 1999 Keti Bandar, a category 3 storm on the Saffir–Simpson scale, which resulted in the deaths of 6,200 people in Sindh’s impoverished Thatta district. This is also where Biparjoy is expected to hit. In India’s Gujarat state, a 1998 cyclone killed at least 4,000 people and caused damage estimated at hundreds of millions of US dollars.

The IMD has reported that the onset of the annual monsoon over the southern state of Kerala was delayed by Biparjoy, but conditions are now favourable for the progress of much-needed rains in parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu states.