Faiza Ilyas |
Jamil Nagri
August 30, 2024
LARKANA: Residents of Azeem Bhatti village, located near Gambat along the Larkana-Khairpur road, wade through the flooded area towards a safe place on Thursday after heavy flooding in the region following several days of downpour.—APP
• Deep depression constantly moving towards Oman
• Meteorologist says storm does not pose ‘direct threat’, torrential rain in coastal areas till 31st likely
• Two killed as flash floods in Gilgit wash away infrastructure; Babusar Top receives unusual snowfall
• Seven killed as rain continues to lash Punjab; major reservoirs filled to brim; Hub dam may open spillways
KARACHI/GILGIT: With a deep depression lying at about 250km south/southeast of Karachi on Thursday and set to move west towards Oman, the coastal areas of Pakistan are bracing for a
‘rare’ cyclonic storm likely over the northeast Arabian Sea along Sindh’s coast.
Meanwhile, incessant rainfall across the country killed another nine people, induced flash floods, cut off road access, and filled major water reservoirs to the brim.
The deep depression over the Rann of Kutch, India, slowly moved west-southwestward over the last 12 hours. It would move west towards Oman parallel to Pakistan coast, but can produce torrential rains in southern districts including Karachi and along the Makran coast.
In Punjab, seven people lost their lives and 18 others were wounded as heavy rain wreaked havoc in the province, destroying infrastructure and causing urban flooding in low-lying areas.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, deaths and injuries were reported from 2pm on Aug 28 to 2pm on Thursday.
Similarly, in Gilgit-Baltistan, two people — tourist included — died and three were wounded as rain caused landslides and flash floods in the region while blocking the Karakoram Highway and Baltistan Road.
Threat of rare cyclone
As rains are likely to lash most parts of the country,
Sindh already battered by torrential rain braced itself for another spell of heavy rain till Aug 31 due to the cyclonic storm that was expected to be formed over the northeast Arabian Sea along its coast early Friday morning.
Met officials have described the formation of a cyclone in the monsoon season as a “rare phenomenon”.
“There is an 80 per cent chance for a cyclonic storm’s formation when the deep depression would move from land to the sea and get favourable conditions. “It would be a rare event as cyclones are uncommon in the monsoon season,” said Chief Meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz.
He explained it was due to the high vertical wind shear during the monsoon period that depressions formed in this season didn’t turn into cyclones.
Dr Sarfaraz said if the storm materialised it would be the first cyclone in the Arabian Sea in August since 1976 and would get the name ‘Asna’ suggested by Pakistan. He added that regional cyclones were assigned names according to a list prepared by a 13-country panel, including Pakistan.
The storm, however, does not pose a direct threat to the coastal areas of Pakistan, but its impact will still be felt in the form of torrential rains which could lead to urban flooding and inundation in low-lying areas, including Karachi. In light of the inclement weather conditions, the Karachi commissioner’s office has announced a holiday for schools on Aug 30 (Friday).
