A day earlier, heavy to moderate rains with gusts started at about 8 pm and continued in different cities, including Mithi, Islamkot and Diplo.
District officials said that as of now, 81mm of rain has been recorded in Diplo, 69mm in Islamkot, 34mm in Nangar Parkar and 28 mm in Kaloi, while 122mm of rain has been recorded in Umerkot district.
“It is raining for the last 14 hours,” said Sajid Bajeer, a Mithi-based journalist. “Officials say it will continue for a few more hours,” he added.Following the heavy rain, the power supply was cut off in Tharparkar district.
Sindh health department’s Director General Dr Irshad Memon told The Express Tribune that at least four people have died in the last three days. “All health department staff is in the field since last week,” he said.
He confirmed that medicines, including lifesaving drugs, dog and snake bite vaccines, anti-biotics and ORS were available in all hospitals operating in the districts.
Memon also said that the families have been provided mosquito nets for children, adding that children will also receive an additional measles vaccine.He added that the relief camps will be operating till June 19.
“There is no rain in Keti Bandar,” Abdul Shakoor, a resident of the area informed. He said that “there was panic that the cyclone will hit our region but the forecast was not accurate.”
The provincial government has said that the internally displaced persons will be sent back to their homes by June 19.
Sindh Chief Secretary Dr Sohail Rajput stated that the government has successfully relocated more than 82,000 individuals from the coastal belt. The provincial government is providing food and other facilities to 50,000 people in 81 camps, including 5,000 families in Malir, 17,050 families in Sujawal, 23,000 families in Badin, and 5,000 individuals in a camp in Thatta.
He said that after the reduction in the impact of the storm, the affected individuals would be sent back to their homes and the Sindh government will provide one week's ration to them.
Cyclone Biparjoy, which lashed Kutch-Saurashtra region, has left a trail of destruction as it damaged 5,120 electricity poles and rendered 4,600 villages without power, even as the authorities said that no loss of human life has been reported.
Power supply has been restored in 3,580 villages, while more than 1,000 are still without electricity, officials said.
Nearly 600 trees got uprooted and traffic movement on three state highways came to a standstill due to damages and felling of trees, they said, adding that many houses were damaged due to the cyclone.
Biparjoy (meaning disaster or calamity in Bengali) unleashed destructive wind speeds of up to 140 kmph and incessant rains as trees and electricity poles were uprooted, while seawater entered villages located in low-lying areas, officials said.
Heavy rains lashed the entire Kutch district since the cyclone started making landfall near Jakhau Port from 6.30 pm on Thursday and the process continued till 2.30 am, they said.
"No human death has been reported so far due to cyclone Biparjoy. The biggest achievement for the state is that not a single human death has been reported so far. This was possible because of our collective efforts," state Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey told reporters in Gandhinagar.
More than one lakh people were shifted to safer places before the cyclone's landfall, he said.
Asked about a cattle-rearer duo of father and son dying on Thursday while trying to save their goats stuck in a flooded ravine in Bhavnagar district, Pandey said that since the district was not cyclone-affected, their deaths were not counted as cyclone-related.
"The cyclone caused extensive financial loss to the state power utility - Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited - with 5,120 electricity poles getting damaged. They are being restored. As many as 4,600 villages were rendered without power, but electricity supply has been restored in 3,580 villages," he said.
Work to restore power supply in the remaining villages is underway, but inclement weather is posing hurdles in the task, Pandey said.
"Three state highways were closed as they suffered damages and saw felling of trees. A total of 581 trees were uprooted as per reports. As many as nine pucca and 20 kutcha houses were razed, and two pucca and 474 kutcha houses suffered partial damages," he said.
Sixty-five thatched houses were destroyed, and the government was preparing an order for immediate compensation to those who have suffered losses due to the cyclone, the official added.
Media, social service organisations, administration of eight affected districts and central and state ministers in-charge for different districts campaigned in their respective districts to ensure that rescue and relief operation was carried out with better coordination, he said.
"Inter-departmental coordination was also very good, with all of us receiving the guidance of the Chief Minister. He visited the State Emergency Operation Centre, interacted with the media and provided us guidance," he told reporters in Gandhinagar.
It was this collective effort that led to the state achieving one of the highest numbers of over one lakh people relocated to safe places from villages close to the Arabian Sea. With improvement in the situation, the local district administration will begin shifting back those relocated to safer places, he said.
Pandey said the data received so far is primary in nature and it will be revised when fresh information is received from the administration of affected districts by today evening.
Data from Kutch will take time to reach because of continuing strong wind and heavy rainfall in the ground zero of the cyclone, he said.
The cyclone intensity has reduced from 'very severe' to 'severe' category hours after making landfall. The cyclone has moved north-eastwards and has weakened into a cyclonic storm and will become a depression by the evening over south Rajasthan, officials said.
