MANDVI - More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from the path of a fierce cyclone heading towards India and Pakistan, with forecasters warning Wednesday it could devastate homes and tear down power lines.
Biparjoy, meaning "disaster" in Bengali, is making its way across the Arabian Sea and is expected to make landfall as a "very severe cyclonic storm" on Thursday evening, government weather monitors said.
Powerful winds, storm surges and lashing rains were forecast to hammer a 325-kilometre stretch of coast between Mandvi in India's Gujarat state and Karachi in Pakistan.
India's Meteorological Department predicted the storm will hit near the Indian port of Jakhau late Thursday, warning of "total destruction" of traditional mud and straw thatched homes.
At sea, winds were already gusting at speeds up to 180km/h, forecasters said.
By the time it makes landfall wind speeds are predicted to reach 125-135km/h, with gusts up to 150km/h.
"Over 47,000 people have been evacuated from coastal and low-lying areas to shelter," said C.C. Patel, an official in charge of relief operations in Gujarat.
More were expected to be moved inland throughout Wednesday.
India's meteorologists warned of the potential for "widespread damage", including destruction of crops, "bending or uprooting of power and communication poles" and disruption of railways and roads.
Pakistan's climate change minister Sherry Rehman said Wednesday that 62,000 people had been evacuated from the country's southeastern coastline, with 75 relief camps set up at schools and colleges.
She said fishermen had been warned to stay off the water and small aircraft were grounded, while urban flooding was possible in the megacity of Karachi, home to around 20 million people.
"We are following a policy of caution rather than wait and see," she told reporters in Islamabad. "Our first priority is saving lives."
The Pakistan Meteorological Department forecast gusts up to 140 km/h in the southeastern province of Sindh, accompanied by a storm surge reaching 3.5 metres.