Cyclone Biparjoy

A cyclonic storm was making its way through Arabian Sea off the coast of Gujarat in India and Sindh in Pakistan, forcing tens of thousands of people to be evacuated in India and Pakistan, as the countries prepare for the severe Cyclone to hit.

Cyclone Biparjoy was forecasted to make landfall as a category 1 Cyclonic Storm (wind speeds of 74-95 mph) on the 15^th of June 2023 through southeastern Sindh and recurve northeast towards Indian Gujarat.

Heavy rainfall is forecasted from 14^th to 16^th June in southeastern districts of Sindh.

Latest update on Cyclone Biparjoy

Cyclone Biparjoy downgraded from a very severe category 1 cyclonic storm to severe category 2 cyclonic storm. The severe cyclonic storm made landfall on the Indian Gujarat coast, specifically in the Jakhau port and surrounding areas. However, it has since weakened. Cyclone Biparjoy did not made landfall in Pakistan and instead is getting weaker. Possible impacts have been heavy rains with thunderstorms in coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan.

The situation in India

India’s Meteorological Department has issued a warning for the coastal districts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region of Gujarat, including Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Morbi & Junagarh & Rajkot districts.

Approximately 1.6 million people across eight coastal districts are likely to be affected by the cyclone. 37,000 people have been evacuated by the government.

The situation in Pakistan

There is a high risk of coastal inundation in the areas near the coastline, including Karachi, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Hyderabad, Ormara, Tando Allahyar Khan, and Tando Mohammad Khan.

Approximately 500,000 people will be impacted due to the cyclone. Mass evacuations are underway in the coastal areas of Pakistan with 65,000 people evacuated. The authorities remain on high alert and providing cooked food and other necessities to the people.

Islamic Relief’s response

Islamic Relief teams in India and Pakistan are engaged in coordination with the local authorities and are closely monitoring the storm. We have our disaster response teams ready on standby.