Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman has said that the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy at the Pakistani coastal belt has been delayed, as it has slow down.
The tropical storm is expected to hit Keti Bandar area of Sindh at midnight today.
Briefing the media about the latest situation of the cyclone in Islamabad on Thursday along with NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik, the minister said evacuation process in the affected areas of the coastal belt has been completed, and some 82,000 people have been shifted to safer places.
Sherry Rehman said the cyclone has now recurved towards the north-east, and it is encouraging that it has changed its direction from Karachi.
She said 17 stations are continuously monitoring the situation.
The speed of the cyclone is 6-8 kilometer. Earlier, it was forecast to hit the Pakistani coast at 11am today, but because of a reduction in its speed, it is expected to strike at night, the minister explained.
The areas likely to be impacted by the storm are Keti Bandar, Thatta, Badin, Sajawal and Malir. The cyclone is 235 kilometers from Thatta, 230km from Karachi and 155km from Keti Bandar.
The minister told the media that severe rainfall is likely in Thatta, Sajawal, Umerkot, and Mirpurkhas, while the waves created as a result of the cyclone are expected to be as high as 30 feet.
“The storm may have turned away from Karachi, but we are prepared,” she iterated, adding five airports, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, are likely to be affected.
Sherry Rehman further said that this is the first cyclone to approach Pakistan in 10 years because of climate change. The air force is on standby, she added.
Medicines, food and clean water are being provided at the relief camps.
The PDMA chairman said the speed of wind that was 150 kilometers yesterday has now reduced to 130km. The storm may have been delayed, but its intensity is the same, he stressed.
