storm
Strong hurricane hits India and Pakistan
A goat stands in the entrance of a house in Mumbai, where high tidal waves are already battering the shores of the Arabian Sea. photo
© Rafiq Maqbool/AP/dpa
India and Pakistan are preparing for an exceptionally powerful cyclone. Experts blame climate change for extreme weather in the region.
A strong hurricane is approaching India and Pakistan. Cyclone “Biparjoy” is expected to hit the mainland of neighboring India and Pakistan with wind speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour on Thursday with a lot of rain, the Indian weather service announced on Tuesday. Specifically, this would probably happen on the coasts between the north-west Indian city of Mandvi and the Pakistani mega-metropolis of Karachi.
Pakistani authorities said they began evacuating around 100,000 people on some stretches of coast on Tuesday. Hospitals and emergency services are also on high alert. According to Sardat Safaraz, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Institute, “Biparjoy” is the most severe cyclone to hit Pakistan in 25 years.
According to their own statements, officials in India brought 21,000 people near the coast to safety by Tuesday. Fishermen have been instructed not to go to sea in the affected region. According to their own statements, the Indian coast guard brought 50 employees of an oil drilling platform off the coast of the affected state of Gujarat to safety on Tuesday night.
According to the Indian Weather Service, major damage to houses, roads, electricity and communication infrastructure and crops is expected in the region. Interruptions in train connections are also to be expected. Experts blame climate change for the increasing number of extreme weather events in the region.