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Cyclone Biparjoy — which hit India’s Gujarat coast near the border with Pakistan on Thursday — weakened into a depression by Saturday morning, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said, declaring it safe for fishermen in Balochistan to venture into the sea starting today and for those in Sindh from tomorrow.
Biparjoy, which means “calamity” in Bengali, had hit the state of Gujarat with speeds of up to 125 kph, blowing roofs off houses and uprooting trees and electricity poles. At least six people were reported dead in India in events pertaining to the cyclone before it made landfall.
Meanwhile, Pakistan was largely spared of the storm’s effects and no lives were lost here. However, water levels did increase in some coastal areas.
In both countries, more than 180,000 people fled the path of Biparjoy as authorities moved to evacuate citizens from vulnerable areas.
According to an earlier update by the PMD, Biparjoy had came ashore as a Category 1 cyclone at landfall after being Category 3 in the Arabian Sea.
It had moved further northeastward from Rann of Kutch in India and Tharparkar in Pakistan over the last 12 hours, the PMD said in its latest update today morning, adding that it had converted into a depression and was now lying over southwest Rajasthan in India and Tharparkar in Pakistan.
“The associated maximum sustained surface winds are [blowing at] 30-40km/hour, gusting 50km/hour,” the PMD said, forecasting that the weather system would likely
move further eastward and weaken into a low-pressure area over Rajasthan.
Under the impacts of this weather system, the PMD predicted more rain and thunderstorms, with few heavy falls accompanied by gusty winds of speed 30-40km/hour in Tharparkar, Umerkot and parts of Badin districts today.
Moreover, rain and thunderstorms were also expected in Thatta, Sujawal and Mirpurkhas districts, the forecast said.
Fishermen of Balochistan can resume their activities from today and those of Sindh from tomorrow, according to the PMD.
According to the Met Office, Nagarparkar and Mithi districts in Sindh received the highest amount of rainfall during the last 24 hours, recorded at 269mm and 196mm, respectively.
Life returns to normal
Earlier, as life began returning to normal in Sindh following the dissipation of Biparjoy, authorities in Karachi lifted the ban on going into the open sea. In Thatta, around 50 kilometres inland, shops and markets gradually reopened under drizzling skies and a cool ocean breeze.
In the fishing port of Keti Bandar — forecast to be hardest hit by the storm — few shops had opened on Friday as intruding seawater started receding.
Fishermen, too, gradually started returning to their bamboo-made abodes near the jetty in Keti Bandar, though after paying an economical cost and losing several days of their fishing-based income.