MANDVI, India: More than 175,000 people fled the expected route of cyclone Biparjoy, which made landfall on Thursday amid howling gales and smashing seas along India and Pakistan’s coastline.
Biparjoy, whose name means “disaster” in Bengali, is expected to plough across the western state of Gujarat, destroying homes and toppling power lines, according to Indian weather analysts.
The storm, which had winds of 125 km/h (78 mph) and gusts as high as 140 km/h, made landfall in India about 6:30 pm (1330 GMT), according to a statement from the Indian Meteorological Department.
State IMD director Manorama Mohanty told AFP that coastal districts will continue to experience the full power of the storm till midnight.
The storm was expected to continue overnight into Sindh province in Pakistan, which is home to the port megacity of Karachi, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre of the United States.
Before the storm on Thursday, Jayantha Bhai, a 35-year-old shopkeeper in the Gujarati coastal town of Mandvi, told AFP that he was concerned for the safety of his family.
“This is the first time I’ve ever experienced a cyclone,” said Bhai, a father of three sons who range in age from eight to fifteen. Bhai intended to ride out the storm in his modest concrete house behind the business. As torrential rain beat down on his home, he responded, “This is nature; we can’t fight with it.”
After many hours of rain on Thursday afternoon, low-lying roadways began to flood. Sheets of water were blown earlier by gusting winds, which obscured the sky with a drab, grey mist.
Nearly every store was shut, and customers flocked to the handful that were still open to stock up on food and water.
The possibility for “widespread damage” including crop loss, “bending or uprooting of power and communication poles” and interruption of railroads and highways was forewarned by India’s meteorologists. AFP
