Pakistan sent speedboats to warn fishing fleets Friday of approaching Cyclone Phet and said it has prepared emergency shelters for 250,000 people it fears could be affected.
Neighbouring India warned that Cyclone Phet would cause heavy rains and gale-force winds along parts of its western coast.
Phet was centred in the Arabian Sea, 1,060 kilometres southwest of the Kutch area of Gujarat state, the India Meteorological Department said.
The storm is expected to gain strength Friday and move closer to Oman before returning to Pakistan’s southwestern coast, where it is expected to be felt Sunday.
In Karachi, the Maritime Security Agency dispatched speedboats to several dozen fishing boats that were at sea and oblivious of the warnings, spokesman Shakil Ahmed said.
Senior relief officer Munir Ahmed Memon said some 250,000 people in the districts of Thatta and Badin could be affected. Hundreds of schools have been converted into relief camps, he said.
Riaz Khan, Pakistan’s chief meteorologist, said the cyclone would likely lose much of its strength by Sunday, but could still cause strong winds and heavy rain.
Thatta and Badin districts were the worst affected in 1992 when a cyclone killed 450 people and displaced some 200,000 others.
Read more: Pakistan braces for Cyclone Phet | CBC News