Major oil and container ports have shut in India as a severe cyclone tracks toward the nation’s west coast near Pakistan.
Adani Group’s flagship Mundra operation, India’s busiest container harbor, the oil ports of Vadinar and Sikka, as well as Kandla, Okha, Bedi and Navlakhi have suspended operations, according to the Gujarat Maritime Board. Sikka is a key facility for Reliance Industries Ltd.’s giant Jamnagar refinery.
Very severe cyclone Biparjoy — a name which means disaster — is expected to make landfall between Gujarat and Pakistan’s Karachi on Thursday, according to the India Meteorological Department. Wind gusts could reach as high as 150 kilometers (93 miles) an hour, the weather bureau said.
India’s weather bureau advised authorities to evacuate people from coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat including in Jamnagar. The region is also home to Nayara Energy Ltd.’s Vadinar oil refinery. Over the border in Pakistan, the DHA neighborhood also advised hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate, according to a post on Twitter.
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🚨 Important Announcement: Evacuation Notice for DHA Residents: In light of the impending cyclone and the safety and well-being of our community members being our top priority, we would like to inform you that a voluntary evacuation is recommended for pic.twitter.com/K2D09dZmHz
— DHA Karachi Official (@DHAKarachiOfc) June 12, 2023
Cyclones typically form off India’s coast during April and May, prior to the monsoon, and in October and November, following the rainy season, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The Gujarat government has so far evacuated about 20,000 people from coastal areas and the operation is still continuing, said Alok Kumar Pandey, the state’s relief commissioner. Pakistan has started mandatory evacuations in some areas on the coastline, including Keti Bunder, according to Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister of climate change.
–With assistance from Pratik Parija, Jasmine Ng, Faseeh Mangi and Atul Prakash.
Photograph: A police vehicle petrols at a beach before the due onset of cyclone in Karachi, Pakistan on June 12, 2023. Photo credit: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images
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