NewsPakistan’s coastal areas brace for possible cyclone
KARACHI: Pakistan evacuated thousands of people from southern coastal areas on Monday ahead of a possible cyclone, two days after a storm killed at least 235 people in the port city of Karachi, officials said.
The meteorological department issued an alert saying that a tropical storm forming in the Arabian Sea 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of Karachi was likely to intensify into a cyclone in the next six to 12 hours.
The new storm was expected to bring strong winds with "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, and neighbouring Baluchistan province, it said on its website.
Fishermen were advised to stay ashore until Thursday in some areas because of the likelihood of "extremely" rough seas. At least 10 fishermen have been missing since the weekend, officials said.
"It is likely to pass very close to Karachi and it can cause heavy rain. Even small rains cause destruction so naturally it can cause losses," a Met official said.
Officials in Baluchistan said around 2,000 people had been evacuated to higher ground from areas along the Arabian Sea coast that were already inundated by the rain.
Karachi is still reeling from a deadly thunderstorm on Saturday, with parts of the sprawling port city of 12 million people still without electricity or drinking water.
Workers were clearing fallen trees and the wreckage of nearly 50 huge iron-advertising billboards that collapsed during the thunderstorms, causing several of the casualties.
Courtesy Geo