Update: ‘Very Severe’ cyclone ‘Vayu’ now 725 km southeast of Karachi

KARACHI: Tropical Cyclone “Vayu” in the East Arabian Sea has intensified as ‘Very Severe Cyclonic Storm’ (VSCS) and is currently located at a distance of about 725 km from Karachi, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said in an update issued to media on Wednesday.

The PMD said that cyclone has moved further north-northwestward during last the six hours. It now lay centered around Lat.18.N and Long.70.0E at 0800PST of 12 June 2019 at a distance of about 725 km southeast of Karachi and is likely to continue to move in northerly direction, the PMD stated.

The maximum sustained surface winds are 135-145 km/hour gusting to 160 km/hour around the system centre.

Under the influence of this system, widespread Dust/Thunder-showers with scattered heavy to very heavy falls are expected in southeast Sindh (Thatta, Badin and Tharparkar districts) on Thursday and Friday. While scattered/isolated Dust-thundershowers may occur in rest of Sindh during the period.

The seabreeze is likely to remain cutoff on Thursday-Friday (13-14 June) which can lead to heatwave like conditions in coastal areas of Sindh including Karachi.

The fishermen of Sindh are advised not to venture in open sea during Wednesday evening to Friday evening, as the sea conditions are likely to be very rough/high.

The Met Office has also advised all the concerned authorities of Sindh province to remain alert and take precautionary measures during coming days regarding the impact of TC Vayu.