Cyclone Michaung was expected to make landfall on the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning, the country’s weather office said, with sustained winds of 90-100 kph (56-62 mph), gusting to 110 kph.

Two people were killed when a wall collapsed because of heavy rain in the Chengalpattu district of neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, joint director of the state disaster management department, C. Muthukumaran, told Reuters.

In Tamil Nadu capital Chennai, the state’s largest city and a major electronics and manufacturing hub, cars were swept away as floodwater flowed through the streets, while its airport, one of the busiest in India, shut down operations for the day citing severe weather.

Media showed pictures of grounded planes with their wheels submerged in water as the rain pelted down.

Several areas of the city were submerged in knee-deep water and there have been power outages since Monday morning, a Reuters witness said, evoking memories of December 2015 when around 290 people died after catastrophic floods.

Authorities in both states were on high alert, evacuating thousands of people living in coastal areas, officials in both states said, with warnings issued to fishermen not to venture out to sea.

Schools, colleges, offices and banks were closed on Monday and Tuesday in at least four districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, because of weather conditions, a government notice said.

Parts of Andhra Pradesh were likely to get more than 200 millimetres (8 inches) of rain over the next 24 hours, India’s weather office said.

In Andhra Pradesh, authorities had evacuated nearly 7,000 people in eight coastal districts and were preparing to evacuate a total of 28,000, depending on the cyclone’s path and severity, a senior official in the state’s disaster management department said.

At least 800 people have been evacuated so far from Bapatla, the coastal town in Andhra Pradesh where the cyclone is expected to make landfall on Tuesday, P Ranjit Basha, district collector of Bapatla, said.

Cyclone Michaung is expected to land on the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning, the country’s weather office said, with sustained winds of 90-100 kph (56-62 mph), gusting to 110 kph.

Authorities in Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Tamil Nadu were on high alert for damage, officials in both states said, with warnings issued for fishermen not to venture out into the sea.

In Andhra Pradesh, authorities had evacuated nearly 7,000 people in eight coastal districts and were preparing to evacuate a total of 28,000, depending on the cyclone’s path and severity, a senior official in the state’s disaster management department told Reuters.

In Tamil Nadu, authorities declared a public holiday in four coastal districts and asked people in Chennai, the capital of the state, not to venture out unless necessary.

Chennai airport halted operations for two hours on Monday morning after torrential rains in the city, media reports said, and several flights were cancelled or diverted to other cities.

The most dramatic overhaul in nearly a quarter century comes after early warnings and timely evacuations this month helped the South Asian nation avert major casualties after cyclone Biparjoy hit its west coast near neighbouring Pakistan.

“In the next five years, our cyclone forecasting will get even better,” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told Reuters in an interview.

Specific improvements cover detection or identification of the formation of cyclones, and accuracy of critical elements such as landfall, wind speed, inundation and storm surge, he added, but stopped short of detailing funding plans.

The weather service aims to deploy 62 radars, up from 37, and triple the speed of its supercomputers to 30 petaflops from 10, to enable quicker processing of weather-related data, Mohapatra said.

A unit of computing power, the petaflop refers to a thousand trillion operations a second.

Better computing power would allow the state-run department to use “high-resolution” models of 5 km (3 miles), versus 12 km (7 miles) now, leading to more precise, localised forecasts, Mohapatra said.

The government also aims to more than double the number of automated weather observatories by installing 1,000 new units in the next five years, he added.

In addition, the number of automated rain gauges will be ramped up.

“Because of our early warning systems, casualties have come down to barely a few people from thousands in the 1990s, and further upgrades will only make forecasts even more precise and accurate,” Mohapatra added.

New Delhi overhauled its cyclone forecasting apparatus after a fierce tropical storm battered the east coast in 1999 to kill 10,000 people.

India’s coasts, dotted with oil refineries, energy terminals and steel plants among other industries, must contend with a spate of tropical storms every year.

“Our early cyclone warning forecasts have saved millions of lives, and now we aim to further refine the whole process,” Mohapatra said.

Mandvi (AP) — The coastal regions of India and Pakistan were on high alert Wednesday with tens of thousands of people being evacuated a day ahead of a cyclone’s expected landfall.

The India Meteorological Department said Cyclone Biparjoy was packing sustained winds of up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 mph) and was projected to make landfall near Jakhau port in the Kutch district of India’s Gujarat state on Thursday.

Residents living within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the coast in Gujarat were evacuated, and those living within 10 kilometers (6 miles) may also have to leave, officials have said.

Five people have been killed so far in incidents related to the cyclone, including three boys who drowned off Mumbai’s coast and a woman who was killed in an accident caused by strong winds in Gujarat. Rescuers were searching for another person who drowned off Mumbai.

Experts say climate change is leading to an increase in cyclones in the Arabian Sea region, making preparations for natural disasters all the more urgent.

At a relief camp for displaced people in the Pakistani village of Gharo in Sindh province, laborer Allah Noor, 59, said soldiers came and evacuated them during strong winds.

In Kutch, where the cyclone was expected to hit land, 57-year-old boat owner and businessman Adam Karim Dhobi said this was the worst storm he’d seen since 1998.

“We have parked our boats in safe places,” Dhobi said. “We are praying to God that this cyclone doesn’t cause too much damage here.”

The Press Trust of India news agency said nearly 50,000 people have been evacuated to relief camps in Gujarat. Nikhil Mudholkar from the National Disaster Response Force, who was overseeing relief operations in Devbhoomi Dwarka district along Gujarat’s coast, said they were fully prepared and were now in waiting mode.

“We have deployed 23 teams and have moved everyone living near the coast to safer ground,” Mudholkar said. “Windspeeds have picked up now and rains have started too.”

In Pakistan, despite strong winds and rain, authorities said all people from vulnerable areas have been moved to safer places in the southern districts, including Thatta, Keti Bandar, Sajawal and Badin — regions that only last summer were hit by devastating floods that displaced thousands.

For many there, it was a second displacement in less than a year. People packed as many of their belongings as they could into their cars and left — either on their own or under troop escort — heading to relief camps set up inside government buildings and schools.

At the Gharo relief camp, 80-year-old Bayan Bibi said there was no medicine for the sick available at the camp.

On Tuesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered the evacuations from areas at risk and asked local authorities to arrange food, shelter and medical facilities for the displaced. Pakistan Climate Minister Sherry Rehman urged people not to panic but work with the authorities, promising they would be taken to safer places.

She said the threat of the cyclone making landfall in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city with 20 million people, had been averted. She told reporters that Pakistan will consider suspending commercial flights when it assesses the situation on Thursday.

Nearly 80,000 people have been evacuated or have voluntarily moved away from danger zones, authorities said.

The International Rescue Committee said it is preparing to deploy emergency teams in Pakistan. The group’s country director, Shabnam Baluch, said an increase in cyclones due to climate change could result in more internal displacement “and this could have far-reaching implications on the future of Pakistan.”

Pakistan’s electricity minister, Khurram Dastgir, warned at a news conference of power outages once the cyclone makes landfall. He said transmission lines will likely be damaged and that the government has deployed 2,000 engineers to deal with the situation in the south.

The cyclone has “extensive damaging potential” and is likely to impact the Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts the most, India’s meteorological department says.

Fishing activities have been suspended in both countries until Friday and all ports in the region have been shut. Dozens of trains and flights were diverted or canceled.

On Tuesday, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah announced a budget of $972 million for disaster management.

A recent study shows that the Arabian Sea has warmed up by almost 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since March this year, making conditions favorable for severe cyclones, he said.

“The oceans have become warmer already on account of climate change,” said Raghu Murtugudde, an Earth system scientist at the University of Maryland.

Another study, in 2021, found that the frequency, duration and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea increased significantly between 1982 and 2019, he said.

Cyclone Tauktae in 2021 was the last severe cyclone that made landfall in the region. It claimed 174 lives, a relatively low figure, thanks to extensive preparations ahead of the storm.

In 1998, a cyclone that hit Gujarat state claimed more than 1,000 lives and caused extensive damage. A cyclone that hit Sindh province and Karachi in 1965 killed more than 10,000 people.

Classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, Biparjoy was situated about 280 km (174 miles) from Jakhau Port in Gujarat and was expected to make landfall around Thursday evening.

“It will touch Kutch-Saurashtra coast (in Gujarat) adjoining the Pakistan coast between Mandvi and Karachi and near Jakhau port on June 15 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in India (1030-1430 GMT),” Manorama Mohanty, the Gujarat director of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told reporters.

“As of now, our forecast is it will cross as a very severe cyclonic storm. After crossing, its intensity will fall and become a cyclonic storm and depression.”

Meteorologists said the cyclone packed winds with maximum sustained speeds of 125-135 km (78-84 miles) per hour, gusting up to 150 km (93 miles) per hour, and warned high tides in the Arabian Sea could inundate low-lying areas along the coasts during the landfall.

Temporary thatched houses could be completely destroyed while standing crops, plantations and roads were expected to face major damage, the IMD said in a statement, adding that railways could also face disruption.

“Coastal districts of Gujarat have started receiving heavy rainfall,” a senior official with the state-run IMD said. “From Wednesday evening, the intensity of rainfall and wind speed would increase. On Thursday, extremely heavy rainfall is expected. Some districts could get more than 200 mm rainfall on Thursday.”

Eight districts in coastal Gujarat are expected to be affected, the state government said. Fishing has been suspended until Friday and schools have declared holidays.

Many offshore oil installations and major ports, which line up the coasts in Gujarat have been forced to suspend operations.

“We have evacuated more than 45,000 people so far. The evacuation operations will continue till today (Wednesday) evening, mainly in Kutch,” said Kamal Dayani, a senior official in the Gujarat state government.

Auditorium halls in schools and other government buildings were converted into relief camps to provide shelter to displaced people in neighbouring Pakistan.

Ships and boats have been moved from some areas of Pakistan’s coast while hospitals in the region were put on high alert as part of preparations for the cyclone. About 100,000 people will be evacuated by Wednesday morning, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority has said.

Ahmedbad/Mumbai (Reuters) – Four boys drowned in rough seas off the western Indian financial hub of Mumbai on Tuesday as India and Pakistan began evacuating people from coastal areas, two days before a cyclone is expected to make landfall.

Classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, Biparjoy is expected to land around Thursday evening between Mandvi in India’s Gujarat province and Karachi in southern Pakistan.

Meteorologists predict maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135 km (78-84 miles) per hour, gusting to 150 km (93 miles) per hour.

“Four boys drowned at Juhu beach on Monday evening. So far, we have found the bodies of two, and the search is still ongoing to locate the remaining two,” said a police official in Mumbai, south of Gujarat.

High waves in the Arabian Sea, accompanied by heavy rains and gusting winds pounded Gujarat’s coastal areas, uprooting trees and resulting in a wall collapse that killed three people in Kutch and Rajkot districts, authorities said.

Eight districts in coastal Gujarat are expected to be affected, the state government said. Fishing has been suspended until Friday and schools have declared holidays.

Gujarat is home to many offshore oil installations and major ports in the country and most have been forced to suspend operations.

A 1998 cyclone killed at least 4,000 people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage in Gujarat.

Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said that more than 20,500 people have been evacuated from coastal districts and the evacuation was expected to be completed by Tuesday evening.

In neighbouring Pakistan, paramilitary troops and local civil authorities also started moving people to shelters and relief camps, which were set up in schools and other government buildings, said Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman.

Ships and boats have been moved from some areas of Pakistan’s coast while hospitals in the region were put on high alert, added Rehman.

About 100,000 people will be evacuated by Wednesday morning, the chairman of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said.

Two of India’s largest ports, Kandla and Mundra, have suspended operations, the state government said. Other ports, including Bedi, Navlakhi, Porbandar, Okha, Pipavav and Bhavnagar, have also closed due to the cyclone, according to shipping sources.

Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), which operates the world’s largest refining complex in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, declared a force majeure, suspending exports of diesel and other oil products from Gujarat’s Sikka port, traders said.

The Adani conglomerate’s ports business, Adani Ports (APSE.NS), said it suspended vessel operations on Monday at Mundra, India’s biggest commercial port that has the country’s largest coal import terminal, and also at Tuna port near Kandla.

The Indian Coast Guard said it evacuated 50 personnel from a jack-up oil rig off Gujarat’s coast named Key Singapore, which is owned by Dubai-based Shelf Drilling (SHLF.OL) and currently working for Cairn Oil & Gas (Vedanta Ltd.) (VDAN.NS), according to Shelf Drilling’s website.

Bengaluru (AP) — Pakistan’s army and civil authorities are planning to evacuate 80,000 people to safety along the southern coast, and thousands in neighboring India sought shelter ahead of Cyclone Biparjoy, which is forecast to slam ashore in the densely populated region later this week, officials said Tuesday.

The cyclone is likely the most powerful to hit western India and Pakistan since 2021, and follows devastating floods that ravaged Pakistan last year, leaving 1,739 people dead and $30 billion in losses.

Biparjoy was packing maximum sustained winds of 180 kph (111 mph), according to the India Meteorological Department. It’s projected to hit land on Thursday near Jakhau port in the Kutch district of Gujarat. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said the cyclone was 470 kilometers (292 miles) south of Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, on Tuesday morning.

In India, thousands were evacuated from low-lying regions, including residents living within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the coast in Gujarat. Those within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of the coast might be moved over the next two days if required, officials said.

“We have shifted 20,580 people from Gujarat’s coastal districts and moved them to relief camps where they will be provided with food, drinking water and other essential material,” said C. C. Patel, director of relief in the Gujarat state government.

Authorities also banned gatherings along the beaches and shorelines during the cyclone. All ports, including two of India’s largest, Mundra and Kandla, have been shut down as a precaution.

Government officials in Gujarat told Press Trust of India news agency that one woman was killed and her husband injured after strong winds caused a tree to fall on their motorcycle.

In Mumbai, in the neighboring state of Maharasthra, four boys were washed away by high tide off Juhu Beach on Monday evening. One body was recovered and search and rescue operations were ongoing for the three others, officials said. Authorities had closed the Mumbai beaches during high tide.

Fishermen in both countries have been asked to stay ashore and move their boats to safer locations.

On Monday evening, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he chaired a meeting to review the preparedness. “Our teams are ensuring safe evacuations from vulnerable areas and ensuring maintenance of essential services. Praying for everyone’s safety and well-being,” he tweeted.

In Pakistan, authorities backed by the military so far had evacuated 22,000 people from coastal towns, said Sharjeel Memon, the information minister in Sindh province. The rest of the 80,000 people are expected to be moved before the landfall on Thursday.

Experts say climate change is leading to an increase in cyclones in the Arabian Sea region, making preparations for natural disasters all the more urgent.

“The oceans have become warmer already on account of climate change,” said Raghu Murtugudde, Earth system scientist at the University of Maryland. He said a recent study shows that the Arabian Sea has warmed up by almost 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since March this year, making conditions favorable for severe cyclones.

A 2021 study found that the frequency, duration and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea had increased significantly between 1982 and 2019, he said.

U.N. climate reports have also stated that the intensity of tropical cyclones would increase in a warmer climate. A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2019 found that since the 1950s, the fastest sea surface warming has occurred in the Indian Ocean.

Cyclone Tauktae in 2021 was the last severe cyclone that made landfall in the same region. It claimed 174 lives, a relatively low figure thanks to extensive preparations ahead of the cyclone.

In 1998, a cyclone that hit Gujarat claimed more than 1,000 lives and caused excessive damage. A cyclone that hit Sindh province and the city of Karachi in 1965 killed more than 10,000 people.

Cyclone Mocha struck the western state of Rakhine and nearby regions last month, killing hundreds of people and damaging thousands of dwellings.

“The devastation is truly immense,” said Titon Mitra, a U.N. representative in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city. Strong winds “twisted telecom towers, snapped concrete poles in half and uprooted even 100-year-old trees,” he said.

An estimated 700,000 homes have been damaged and rains, combined with storm surges, have wreaked havoc on the agricultural and fisheries sector, according to the U.N.

Among those hardest hit are members of the Rohingya minority who have been living in crowded displacement camps since losing their homes in a brutal 2017 counterinsurgency campaign led by Myanmar security forces.

Adding to this the U.N. is concerned about a rise in diseases, such as dysentery, due to waste contaminating waterways.

While Myanmar’s military government has provided some aid, much more needs to be brought in, the global body said.

“The international community has to be given widespread access to the affected communities,” said Mitra. “That’s a very urgent requirement. And the provision of relief itself is not enough.”

In addition to the immediate needs, there is also a high risk of famine because roads and bridges linking farmers and fisheries to markets have been washed away, and seed stocks have been lost, he said.

“If the planting does not take place immediately and within the next few weeks, we could see a major food crisis emerging in the next few months,” Mitra told reporters at a U.N. briefing in Geneva. “We are anticipating, unless there’s an effective response, that food availability and affordability will become huge issues.

“This really is a time for the depoliticization and the demilitarization of aid, because the needs are absolutely immense,” he said, noting that about 1.6 million people need support. “We really are seeing the lives of many precariously in the balance, and we also risk perpetuating an unending cycle of suffering.”