New Delhi/Islamabad (EFE)
The cyclone is heading across the Arabian Sea at about 180 km/h towards the port of Jakhau in the western Indian state of Gujarat, where it is expected to make landfall between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time (+5 GMT), according to the latest report from India Meteorological Department (IMD).
In India, the head of government of the coastal state of Gujarat assured last night on Twitter that more than 74,000 people had already been evacuated in eight districts of the state.
For its part, in Pakistan, “more than 72,000 people have been evacuated from areas under direct threat by the cyclone so far,” the government spokesman for the southern province of Sindh, on the border with India, told EFE.
wind and dust showers
The effects of the cyclone will be felt especially in Gujarat and some areas of northern Rajasthan, with light and moderate rains in most regions and some very heavy rainfall in specific points of this coastal state, according to the IMD estimate.
Meanwhile, on the southeast coast of Sindh, “widespread wind and dust showers/thunderstorm with some very heavy/extremely heavy falls” are expected until next Saturday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
Southern Sindh was precisely devastated by severe flooding last summer, which affected more than 33 million people, killing at least 1,700.
The passage of cyclones is common on the Indian coast. Tauktae, one of the most virulent in recent years, left at least 145 dead in 2021.
In neighboring Pakistan, a cyclone in 1999 caused more than 6,000 deaths.