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Cyclone Biparjoy live tracker: Storm begins landfall in India as Pakistan braces for ferocious winds and downpours
High tide and strong winds witnessed as ‘Biparjoy’ approaches India coast
A vast swathe of western India and neighbouring southern Pakistan that suffered deadly floods last year are beginning to suffer a new deluge after Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall in Gujarat province.
Rain pelted the shores, and skies darkened along the Arabian Sea, while dust storms hampered evacuation and rescue work on land.
It’s feared the cyclone will cause flash flooding as downpours worsen for up to three days. Wind speeds are forecast to hit up to 86mph before slowing down.
It will cross between Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi and the Mandvi city in India but its impact can be felt across large parts of southern Pakistan and western India, including Mumbai.
Videos from residents show ferocious winds uprooting trees and blowing away roofs while large parts of coastal regions lay submerged in water.
Both countries have evacuated over 180,000 people from low-lying areas with the impact of the cyclone expected to continue for the next two to three days.
Biparjoy is this year’s first major storm threatening India and the first major disaster posing a threat to Pakistan after last year’s devastating floods killed 1,700 people.
Recent studies show cyclones in the Arabian Sea are getting stronger and wetter as the sea surface temperature increased by 1.2C to 1.4C in recent decades.
Bazaars and beaches deserted and trees uprooted
In India‘s Kutch district, near to where the cyclone made landfall, authorities are expecting significant flooding.
In Pakistan, Keti Bandar in the country’s flood-ravaged southern Sindh province, also lies in Biparjoy’s path.
The bazaars and beaches in Mandvi, India, usually a bustling coastal town known for its wooden boat-makers, were deserted under government shutdown orders.
Heavy winds and rains uprooted some trees in the area. Local media reported that a pregnant woman was brought from an island to shore and admitted to a hospital.
Amid dust storms and rain, displaced families were visibly shocked at relief camps in southern Pakistan. One evacuee, 82-year-old Bachai Bibi, said: “I don’t know what will happen to my home.”
Mohammad Ashraf, 35, said local officials helped him, his wife and three children escape from the Pakistani village of Sheikh in the storm zone.
Jane Dalton15 June 2023 19:23
Winds and rain lash coasts
Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall on India’s Gujarat coast near the Pakistan border, the India weather office said, as strong winds and heavy rain lashed coastal areas of the two countries.
“Landfall process is continuing and by midnight it will be completely over the land. Part of the eye (of the cyclone) is over the land,” the Meteorological Department said.
Jane Dalton15 June 2023 19:20
Flooding may damage homes and power lines, experts warn
Indian forecasters are warning of rainfall heavy enough to damage homes, power lines and crops.
“We won’t be surprised if some areas record more than 25cm of rainfall,” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of meteorology at the India Meteorological Department said.
“Usually, they do not receive such intense precipitation at this time of the year. Therefore, there is a risk of flooding in the low-lying areas.”
The forecasters have warned of very heavy (11.5cm – 20.4cm) to extremely heavy rainfall (over 20.5cm) in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, and other areas on path of the cyclone.
It also said the rain could cause extensive damage to standing crops, houses, roads, electricity and communication poles, and flooding of escape routes.
Gujarat’s coasts are witnessing waves 10 to 14 metres high.
Jane Dalton15 June 2023 16:37
High winds and heavy rain have hit India’s western state of Gujarat, and could reach India’s largest city, Mumbai, and Karachi in Pakistan, to the north.
(Google Maps)
Jane Dalton15 June 2023 16:25
Tidal waves could flood low-lying areas
India’s met department says the cyclone could cause tidal waves in the Arabian Sea as high as 2m to 3m (7ft to 10ft) that could inundate low-lying coastal areas in India and Pakistan.
Dust storms have already hampered evacuation and rescue work as Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall.
A vast swath of western India and neighbouring southern Pakistan are braced for flash floods, heavy rain and high winds.
Rain pelted the shores and skies darkened along the Arabian Sea.
Biparjoy is expected to reach wind speeds gusting up to 140kmph (86mph) before slowing down in India’s Gujarat province.
Jane Dalton15 June 2023 15:58
In Pictures: Darkened skies and dusty storms before cyclone Biparjoy’s landfall
A general view of heavy rain at Jakhau ahead of landfall of Biparjoy
(Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A dog walks at a deserted beach ahead of cyclone Biparjoy’s landfall at Mandvi in Kutch district of Gujarat state
(AP)
Western states of India on high alert in wake of cyclone Biparjoy
(EPA)
Stuti Mishra15 June 2023 15:30
Flooding in Gujarat due to cyclone Biparjoy
Rain was falling and skies were darkening in western India and southern Pakistan along the Arabian Sea, where dusty storms were hampering the evacuation and rescue work as cyclone Biparjoy began its landfall.
Authorities expect conditions to worsen for two or three days after the cyclone makes landfall, imminently, at India’s Gujarat.
A man rides a motorcycle through a waterlogged street in Mandvi before the arrival of cyclone Biparjoy in the western state of Gujarat, India
(REUTERS)
Cows take shelter from rain under the roof of closed shops in Mandvi, Gujarat
(EPA)
Stuti Mishra15 June 2023 15:00
Landfall process of cyclone Biparjoy starts
The landfall process of cyclone Biparjoy has started at the western coast of India, the country’s meteorological department has announced.
The cyclone is making landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat’s Kutch district.
The process will take until midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
It will be crossing Saurashtra and Kutch regions and adjoining Pakistan coasts close to Karachi in Pakistan by tonight.
High tide in Mandvi, in the Kutch district of the western state of Gujarat
(EPA)
Stuti Mishra15 June 2023 14:27
Cyclone Biparjoy ‘strongest storm on record in North Indian Ocean’
Cyclone Biparjoy has set a new record for the highest Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean basic, Scientist Matthew Cuyugan tweeted.
The Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) refers to a measure of a storm’s strength, frequency, and duration.Cyclone Biparjoy’s ACE value stood at 24.7775, surpassing the previous record set by Cyclone Kyarr in 2019.
It is also expected to become the first storm in the region to reach an ACE value of 25.
The cyclone is making a landfall tonight in Gujatat Jakhua port and it is classified as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm on the Indian scale or a high-end Tropical Storm on the US scale.
Stuti Mishra15 June 2023 14:00
Cyclone Biparjoy third storm in 60 years to hit Gujarat province of India
Cyclone Biparjoy which is making a landfall today in Gujarat’s Kutch district is only the third tropical storm to follow an eastern path in the Arabian sea.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), based on data from 1965 to 2022 for the month of June, 13 cyclones developed over the Arabian Sea.
Of these, only two crossed the Gujarat coast before Biparjoy, one Maharashtra, one Pakistan coast, while three went towards Oman-Yemen coasts and six weakened over the sea.
Stuti Mishra15 June 2023 13:30
