Pakistani fishermen allowed venturing into sea after cyclone Biparjoy weakens

KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday said that the fishermen in Balochistan can now venture into the sea for their routine activities as the Biparjoy threat has abated after the cyclonic storm (CS) weakened into a depression.

As per Met Department's latest advisory, the fishermen in Balochistan can leave for their fishing expeditions today, while those in Sindh can resume their activities tomorrow (Sunday).

The PMD said that Biparjoy had moved further northeastward during the last 12 hours, converting into a depression.

The system currently lies over southwest Rajasthan, India and Tharparker in the adjoining areas of southeast Pakistan near Latitude 24.4°N & Longitude 71.2°E.

PMD said that it is likely to move further eastward and weaken into a low-pressure area over Rajasthan, causing heavy rain with wind in the impact areas.

Possible impacts:

• More rain-thunderstorms with few heavy falls and accompanied with gusty winds of 30-40 kilometres per hour gusting 50kmph expected in Tharparker, Umerkot and parts of Badin districts today.
• Rain-thunderstorms expected in Thatta, Sujawal and Mirpurkhas districts.

The cyclone tore down power poles and uprooted trees Friday after pummelling the Indian coastline, but the storm was weaker than feared, and there were two confirmed deaths.

More than 180,000 people in the Indian state of Gujarat and Pakistan's Sindh province fled the path of Biparjoy — which means "disaster" in Bengali — before it made landfall on Thursday evening.

Two men in Bhavnagar district died on Thursday evening after drowning in flood waters, the Gujarat state government said.

Another 23 people had been injured in the storm, relief director CC Patel told AFP.

In Pakistan, the cyclone had no major impact, with rain reported in some parts of the southern metropolis of Karachi, which was on high alert.

UN team lauds Sindh's prompt action

Sindh Chief Secretary Dr Mohammad Sohail Rajput met a four-member delegation, led by Julien Harneis, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Affairs at the United Nations.

The meeting discussed various issues, including the response to Cyclone Biparjoy and the rehabilitation of 2022 flood-affected.

During the meeting, Rajput stated that Sindh was not severely directly affected by the coastal storm.

The UN delegation appreciated the performance of the Sindh government, acknowledging that due to the prompt action taken by the Sindh government, people were timely relocated to safe places.

They also acknowledged the coordination of all departments of the government in this process.

Meanwhile, in a notification, the Karachi Commissioner's Office directed all authorities to resume educational activities in the city.