Cyclone Biparjoy: At least 25 killed, 140 injured after heavy rains in Pakistan

At least 25 people were killed and 140 were injured after rains caused havoc in the northwestern region of Pakistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked the officials to take emergency measures in advance in the wake of approaching Cyclone Biparjoy in the Arabia Sea. The “severe and intense” cyclone with wind speeds of 150 kilometers per hour is about to hit the southern part of the country.

The heavy rains swept through the Bannu, Lakki Marwat, and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province uprooting trees and knocking down electrical transmission towers, the Associated Press quoted Pakistan officials on Saturday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of life in the incident and asked the administration to increase the pace of relief operations. Emergency relief operations are underway in the area and the administration is ensuring safe relocation of the affected people.

The fresh loss of lives came as the country is still suffering from the aftereffects of the deadly floods last year which affected around 33 million people. Around 1,700 people lost their lives in the Pakistan floods while 8 million people were displaced.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has reported that Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Biparjoy is currently located in the east-central Arabian Sea and is expected to strengthen. It is anticipated that the storm will move in a north-northeast direction within the next 24 hours.

"VSCS 'Biparjoy' over the east-central Arabian Sea, lay centered at 0530hrs IST of 10th June, near lat 16.5N & long 67.4E, likely to intensify further and move north-northeastwards during next 24 hours," it said in a tweet.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has been consistently providing updates regarding the cyclone, which was also located in the east-central Arabian Sea on Friday night.

(With agency inputs)