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10 killed in Pakistan cyclone
26/06/2007 17:01 - (SA)
Quetta - Ten people drowned and thousands fled to higher ground on Tuesday as a tropical cyclone lashed Pakistan's coastline with heavy rains and high winds, officials said.
At least three small boats were reported to have sunk and 18 fishing boats were missing as the navy sent a warship and two helicopters to scour the rough seas in search of vessels caught up in the storm.
Cyclone Yemyin hit parts of the coastline of Baluchistan province at about noon with winds of up to 91kph, said Qamaruz Zaman, director-general of the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
Rain-swollen rivers flooded several coastal districts, killing at least ten people, including four children, said Raziq Bugti, spokesperson for the provincial government.
Floods washed away part of the main coastal highway, causing lengthy traffic delays. Hundreds of villagers clutching possessions filed past the vehicles in the opposite direction.
In the hills, spillways were opened to release the water pressure on two dangerously full dams, Bugti said.
Flee in panic
Officials said the storm's intensity was decreasing and would subside by evening, but not before dumping heavy rains that could last through the night.
Located on the same Arabian Sea coastline, Pakistan's largest city of Karachi suffered torrential rains and thunderstorms, which killed at least 228 people on Saturday.
Warnings of coastal flooding prompted many to flee in panic.
Most of the 120 000 residents of the southwestern port city of Gwadar moved to higher ground, Mayor Abdul Ghaffar Hoth said.
People from several smaller towns nearby loaded possessions onto camels or into cars and headed for the hills, he said.
Enraged residents protest
"We have imposed an emergency in the district and asked the army and other forces to be on alert," Hoth said.
On the high seas, one boat with 13 crew aboard was rescued by the navy as it was sinking while the search continued for at least three others, two of which reportedly sank, said Mohammed Shahzad, spokesperson for the Maritime Security Agency.
Enraged residents in the sweltering city took to the streets at the weekend to protest, torching vehicles and blocking major roads in the country's economic hub. One person was killed during the riots, police said.
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