Cyclone Biparjoy is just over 150 kilometers away from Thatta’s coastal area of Keti Bandar, and it is expected to landfall in just a few hours, the big question is will the 5,000-people island be able to withstand the cyclone?
Approximately 150 highway kilometers from Karachi, the historic port is about to face one of the biggest natural disasters in recent history.
The port was built on the remains of the older seaport of Debal where Muhammad bin Qasim and his army arrived from Iraq.
In 1948, due to the change in the river flow, the sun of the prosperity of Katie Bandar began to set. In 1946, the area was connected to land, but now it has become an island and now it takes 30 minutes in a boat to reach there.
International non-governmental organizations working for the protection of the environment in Kati Bandar said that the sea is dominating 80 acres of agricultural land every day and the migration of people from here has been going on for years.
There is a marshy area around Kati Bandar, which is not shown on most maps. In these maps, it is shown as an island. However, Highway 110 comes here.
The Zoom Earth, a website that provides live updates on Cyclone Biparjoy, also shows Kati Bandar as a distinct peninsular place from the rest of the Earth.
At 12 noon, the cyclone would pass at a 116 km speed from here.
At around 5 PM Pakistan Standard Time (PST), the storm will be only 80 kilometers away from Kati Bandar. However, the storm could change course until the end and Kati Bandar is inside the triangle called the cone of uncertainty.
It is feared that Biparjoy will take any turn in this area. If the storm continues to move towards the northeast i.e. India, there will be relatively little destruction on the island.
With the storm approaching, rains continue intermittently in Kati Bander, and the flow of water is also gradually increasing and water has already entered nearby villages and houses.
People are already evacuated from Kati Bandar to relief camps. They said that there is no water or facilities available in the camps. Due to the lack of electricity at night, they cannot sleep here.
The district administration said that the evacuation has been forced and is trying to provide facilities to them.