Evacuations begin as Cyclone Phet closes in

As coastal areas in the southern Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Balochistan braced for Cyclone Phet, currently approaching Oman, authorities began evacuating 60,000 villagers.



President Asif Ali Zardari ordered the military and government to take “immediate precautionary measures” as the tropical cyclone approached.



“Cyclone Phet has almost reached the Oman coast and could move towards Pakistan's coastline of Balochistan and Sindh in the next 24-36 hours,” Naeem Shah, a meteorological department official, told the media on 3 June.



Concern is also rising in Balochistan. “We are doing everything possible to cope with the situation. We could begin moving people away if there is immediate danger,” Muhammad Hassan Baloch, head of the disaster management authority in the province, told IRIN.



Baloch said 500,000 people living in coastal areas could be affected.



“The sea is getting really choppy and stormy. Things don’t look good at all,” Shabbir Ahmed, 60, a resident of Karachi, provincial capital of Sindh, told IRIN. “There is really very little preparedness in Karachi. People have no idea what to do.”



In a statement, the Pakistan Fisherfolks Forum said a search was on for about “160 boats at sea that have not returned”. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people are believed to be on the boats. The Pakistan navy has been assisting with search operations, according to media reports.



“My husband and sons have stayed off the sea. I am glad they are safe even though this means a loss of income. We are praying for those still at sea,” Ghaffara Mai, 40, told IRIN from the fishing village of Ketti Bandar, near Karachi.



The Pakistan Met Office said coastal areas were vulnerable to the cyclone, but forecast that Karachi - Pakistan’s largest city with a population of more than 15 million - would not be badly affected. Authorities in the city have put hospitals and emergency services on alert.



About 60,000 people have already been moved from coastal areas. “We have shifted them to hundreds of relief camps established in school buildings in the area,” Munir Memon, a senior official in the provincial relief commission, was quoted by AFP as saying.



Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency said it had ordered all boats to remain in harbours.



Sindh and Balochistan were hit in July 2007 by Cyclone Yemyin, which killed at least 250 people, left 1.2 million homeless and destroyed 250,000 houses. Cyclone Phet has already reportedly caused heavy rains in some parts of Sindh.



kh/at/mw