Cyclone Phet
Encyclopedia
Cyclone Phet was the third named cyclone of the 2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
. Phet developed from a low pressure area in the Arabian Sea
that organized into a tropical cyclone
on May 31. It initially moved to the northwest but later turned northwards before making landfall in the Oman Desert
on June 4 at peak intensity. Weakening, it then shifted direction and headed northeast and made landfall as a deep depression at Thatta
, Pakistan
on the evening of June 6 as a deep depression. Phet is Thai
word meaning Diamond
. Damage from Phet in Oman was estimated to have exceeded $780 million.
(IMD) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) reported that an area of low pressure had formed about 925 km (575 mi), to the southwest of Mumbai, India. The area of low pressure had loose organized convection developing around the low level circulation center within the monsoon trough. The system was located to the south of a high pressure center anchored over Oman in an area of moderate vertical windshear. Early the next day as convection around the low level circulation center had consolidated further the JTWC issued a tropical cyclone formation alert
whilst the IMD declared that a depression had formed out of the low pressure area and initiated advisories on it. Later that day the JTWC also initiated advisories on the Depression, designating it as Cyclone 03A as it had continued to consolidate despite moderate levels of vertical windshear.
Early on June 1 as vertical windshear around the Depression had relaxed, the IMD reported that the depression had intensified into a cyclonic storm and named it as Phet. Later that day the JTWC reported that Phet had started to rapidly intensify before reporting that the system had intensified into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale
. During the next day the JTWC reported that Phet had continued to rapidly intensify before reporting that it had initially peaked as a Category 4 tropical cyclone with winds of 230 km/h (145 mph). Phet hit the Arabian Peninsula shortly afterwards with hurricane-force winds, and then crossed into the Arabian sea and was downgraded to a deep depression before it hit Pakistan, dissipating on June 7.
According to the IMD, Phet had the rarest of the rarest tracks with two landfalls and longest track in recent years.
, Pakistan
and the Indian state Gujarat were issued warnings of strong waves accompanied with high winds. Fishermen were asked to go to safer areas and not to venture in the seas.
, The Royal Oman Police
had issued an emergency evacuation notice to the residents of Masirah and Ras al Hadd
for the preparation of the tropical storm Phet. Oman
's Government authorities are also advising residents to stay away from the seas while around 10,000 people have been moved to safer areas. Examinations have been put off and schools have declared holidays. Businesses downed their shutters early to allow staffers to go home. Some reports suggest that over 85 per cent of Masirah island has been evacuated, where Oman air, Oman's national carrier, has performed continuous flights all day along with the military to the local airport to evacuate locals. Meanwhile, rescue teams have been ordered to be present as a precautionary measure against the cyclone in the U.A.E. as the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) warned of high tides and strong winds in the next 48 hours.
ordered the military and government to take "immediate precautionary measures" as the tropical cyclone approached. Around 60,000 residents were being evacuated from vulnerable coastal villages in the southern province of Sindh
and another half a million could be affected in Balochistan
province if Cyclone Phet smashes into Pakistan
. Hospitals in Karachi
and other coastal areas of Sindh
were put on high alert amidst cyclone warning.
and Tuna
in Kutch district
in Gujarat, India
, in view of the advancing cyclone. Three fire brigade teams with rescue vehicles were dispatched to Junagadh
, Porbandar
and Jamnagar
for any eventuality. Power cuts were reported from parts of Saurashtra in Gujarat, India
.
Heavy rains drenched Oman's east coast as strong winds uprooted trees and signboards. The Oman News Agency said that army forces were deployed in the region as civil defense rescued three people from an area engulfed by floods in Wadi Sal valley. A further two rain-related deaths have been reported in Oman as Tropical Cyclone Phet weakened. An Omani citizen drowned when he tried to cross a flooded wadi
, said Lieutenant-General Malik Bin Suleiman Al Ma'amari, Inspector General of Police and Customs Chairman of the National Civil Defence. An Asian died in Quriyat, on the eastern side of Muscat, when he was electrocuted in surging wadi waters.
By June 5, a further eight were confirmed to be dead, resulting in death toll of 16.
On June 6, an official report further increased the death toll to 24, including 21 Omanis and 3 expatriates (one each from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh).
Meanwhile, Oman halted its oil and gas production due to bad weather as Cyclone Phet hit the small oil-producing country's coast.
, which saw 133 millimetres of rainfall on June 4. Authorities evacuated tens of thousands of people to safe areas and the country's army and navy were put on alert. Pasni, Gwadar
and other coastal had no electricity due to heavy rains. High tides were also observed in Jiwani
waters. Under the influence of this system, extremely heavy rainfall occurred over coastal areas of Balochistan (Gwadar , Jiwani , Pasni ) accompanied with very strong wind gusting to .
On June 6, showers started in Karachi
(Masroor , Faisal , Saddar
up to midday June 6, 2010) with 35 mph winds under the influence of the cyclone, disrupting the city's railways and electricity transmission systems. At least 15 people have been killed, mostly by electrocution, and dozens injured by Phet in Pakistan. Phet has also left thousands of Pakistanis homeless. In the evening, the storm moved past Karachi about far and made landfall between coastlines of Thatta
and Badin
, causing heavy rain in the area. Hyderabad
power supply was also disrupted from the downpour.
The drought prone Jaislamer district of Rajasthan was hit with torrential rains. The entire western Rajasthan is badly affected by the spell of heavy rains due to Phet. Jaisalmer received over 120 mm rain. According to Jaisalmer SDM Ramesh Chandra Agarwal, a number of villages, including Lathi near Pokhran, have been submerged in water. Around 35 houses washed away in the rains as water level rose to 10 feet in Lathi village. Army has been pressed into for the rescue operations and 300 villagers have been sent to safe places. We have also alerted Air Force in case of exigency,” he said.
35 black bucks and 11 chinkaras were killed in Tal Chhapar wildlife sanctuary in Churu district. Chhapar sanctuary is one of the few places in India where black bucks are present in large numbers. Of the 35 black bucks that failed to survive Cylone Phet, 12 were adult females. Eight were males and the remaining 15 were fawns.
2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
The 2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a very active event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation with some 8 depressions and 6 named storms, nearly above the average of 4-6 storms in the region due to a moderate La Niña...
. Phet developed from a low pressure area in the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
that organized into a tropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
on May 31. It initially moved to the northwest but later turned northwards before making landfall in the Oman Desert
Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert
The Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert is a coastal ecoregion on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in Oman and the United Arab Emirates at the tip of northeast Arabia-Location and description:...
on June 4 at peak intensity. Weakening, it then shifted direction and headed northeast and made landfall as a deep depression at Thatta
Thatta District
Thatta District is located in the province of Sindh, Pakistan, however it is close to the contested disputed boundary of the Kori Creek. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, it had a population of 1,113,194 of which 11.21% were urban.-Local government:...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
on the evening of June 6 as a deep depression. Phet is Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
word meaning Diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
. Damage from Phet in Oman was estimated to have exceeded $780 million.
Meteorological history
Early on May 30, the India Meteorological DepartmentIndia Meteorological Department
The India Meteorological Department , also referred to as the Met Office, is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology...
(IMD) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force located at the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii...
(JTWC) reported that an area of low pressure had formed about 925 km (575 mi), to the southwest of Mumbai, India. The area of low pressure had loose organized convection developing around the low level circulation center within the monsoon trough. The system was located to the south of a high pressure center anchored over Oman in an area of moderate vertical windshear. Early the next day as convection around the low level circulation center had consolidated further the JTWC issued a tropical cyclone formation alert
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Naval Maritime Forecast Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming from a tropical disturbance that has been...
whilst the IMD declared that a depression had formed out of the low pressure area and initiated advisories on it. Later that day the JTWC also initiated advisories on the Depression, designating it as Cyclone 03A as it had continued to consolidate despite moderate levels of vertical windshear.
Early on June 1 as vertical windshear around the Depression had relaxed, the IMD reported that the depression had intensified into a cyclonic storm and named it as Phet. Later that day the JTWC reported that Phet had started to rapidly intensify before reporting that the system had intensified into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
. During the next day the JTWC reported that Phet had continued to rapidly intensify before reporting that it had initially peaked as a Category 4 tropical cyclone with winds of 230 km/h (145 mph). Phet hit the Arabian Peninsula shortly afterwards with hurricane-force winds, and then crossed into the Arabian sea and was downgraded to a deep depression before it hit Pakistan, dissipating on June 7.
According to the IMD, Phet had the rarest of the rarest tracks with two landfalls and longest track in recent years.
Preparations
The coasts of OmanOman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and the Indian state Gujarat were issued warnings of strong waves accompanied with high winds. Fishermen were asked to go to safer areas and not to venture in the seas.
Oman
In OmanOman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, The Royal Oman Police
Royal Oman Police
The Royal Oman Police , also known as Oman Police , is the main law and order agency for the Sultanate of Oman. It maintains a helicopter fleet and also carries on the duties of safeguarding the long Omani coastline.-Background:...
had issued an emergency evacuation notice to the residents of Masirah and Ras al Hadd
Ras al hadd
Ras al Hadd is a village in Ash Sharqiyah district in Oman. It is considered the last point in the East of Oman and is located in the conjunction between Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea...
for the preparation of the tropical storm Phet. Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
's Government authorities are also advising residents to stay away from the seas while around 10,000 people have been moved to safer areas. Examinations have been put off and schools have declared holidays. Businesses downed their shutters early to allow staffers to go home. Some reports suggest that over 85 per cent of Masirah island has been evacuated, where Oman air, Oman's national carrier, has performed continuous flights all day along with the military to the local airport to evacuate locals. Meanwhile, rescue teams have been ordered to be present as a precautionary measure against the cyclone in the U.A.E. as the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) warned of high tides and strong winds in the next 48 hours.
Pakistan
The President of PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
ordered the military and government to take "immediate precautionary measures" as the tropical cyclone approached. Around 60,000 residents were being evacuated from vulnerable coastal villages in the southern province of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
and another half a million could be affected in Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
province if Cyclone Phet smashes into Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Hospitals in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and other coastal areas of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
were put on high alert amidst cyclone warning.
India
Over 8,000 people were evacuated from KandlaKandla
Kandla is a seaport in Kutch District of Gujarat state in western India. Located on the Gulf of Kutch, it is one of major ports on west coast. Kandla was constructed in the 1950s as the chief seaport serving western India, after the partition of India from Pakistan left the port of Karachi in...
and Tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
in Kutch district
Kutch District
Kutch district is a district of Gujarat state in western India. Covering an area of 45,652 km², it is the largest district of India....
in Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in view of the advancing cyclone. Three fire brigade teams with rescue vehicles were dispatched to Junagadh
Junagadh
Junagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...
, Porbandar
Porbandar
Porbandar is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama...
and Jamnagar
Jamnagar
Jamnagar is a city and a municipal corporation in Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city was built up substantially by Maharaja Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji in the 1920s, when the district was known as Nawanagar. The district lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch and is...
for any eventuality. Power cuts were reported from parts of Saurashtra in Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Impact
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Oman
On June 4 in Oman, first report came that Cyclone Phet killed two persons including a Bangladeshi woman.Heavy rains drenched Oman's east coast as strong winds uprooted trees and signboards. The Oman News Agency said that army forces were deployed in the region as civil defense rescued three people from an area engulfed by floods in Wadi Sal valley. A further two rain-related deaths have been reported in Oman as Tropical Cyclone Phet weakened. An Omani citizen drowned when he tried to cross a flooded wadi
Wadi
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...
, said Lieutenant-General Malik Bin Suleiman Al Ma'amari, Inspector General of Police and Customs Chairman of the National Civil Defence. An Asian died in Quriyat, on the eastern side of Muscat, when he was electrocuted in surging wadi waters.
By June 5, a further eight were confirmed to be dead, resulting in death toll of 16.
On June 6, an official report further increased the death toll to 24, including 21 Omanis and 3 expatriates (one each from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh).
Meanwhile, Oman halted its oil and gas production due to bad weather as Cyclone Phet hit the small oil-producing country's coast.
Pakistan
Phet arrived in BalochistanBalochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
, which saw 133 millimetres of rainfall on June 4. Authorities evacuated tens of thousands of people to safe areas and the country's army and navy were put on alert. Pasni, Gwadar
Gwadar
Gwadar also known as Godar is a developing port city on the southwestern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan. It is the district headquarters of Gwadar District in Balochistan province and has a population of approximately 50,000.Gwadar is strategically located at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the...
and other coastal had no electricity due to heavy rains. High tides were also observed in Jiwani
Jiwani
Jiwani or Jwani is a town and commercial port that is located along the Gulf of Oman in the Gwadar District of the Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is located near the Pakistani border with Iran...
waters. Under the influence of this system, extremely heavy rainfall occurred over coastal areas of Balochistan (Gwadar , Jiwani , Pasni ) accompanied with very strong wind gusting to .
On June 6, showers started in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
(Masroor , Faisal , Saddar
Saddar
Saddar is one of the neighbourhoods of Saddar Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Saddar is the central business district of Karachi. 'Saddar' generally means 'centre' and also 'head' ....
up to midday June 6, 2010) with 35 mph winds under the influence of the cyclone, disrupting the city's railways and electricity transmission systems. At least 15 people have been killed, mostly by electrocution, and dozens injured by Phet in Pakistan. Phet has also left thousands of Pakistanis homeless. In the evening, the storm moved past Karachi about far and made landfall between coastlines of Thatta
Thatta
Thatta is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed...
and Badin
Badin
Badin is the main city and capital of Badin District in Sindh, Pakistan. It lies east of the Indus River. The region is swampy, fertile for growing rice. Some oil fields are located near the town in the seasonally inundated Rann of Kutch region...
, causing heavy rain in the area. Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...
power supply was also disrupted from the downpour.
India
5 people were killed in the Indian state of Gujarat. Four people died in Kutch district in separate incidents of electrocution and lightning during the heavy rains that lashed the coastal areas and some other parts of Gujarat late on June 6. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the rains had been caused by Cyclone Phet which has weakened and is now over Rajasthan. On June 7 in Ahmedabad, a 10-year-old boy, fell into a pit filled with rainwater and drowned.The drought prone Jaislamer district of Rajasthan was hit with torrential rains. The entire western Rajasthan is badly affected by the spell of heavy rains due to Phet. Jaisalmer received over 120 mm rain. According to Jaisalmer SDM Ramesh Chandra Agarwal, a number of villages, including Lathi near Pokhran, have been submerged in water. Around 35 houses washed away in the rains as water level rose to 10 feet in Lathi village. Army has been pressed into for the rescue operations and 300 villagers have been sent to safe places. We have also alerted Air Force in case of exigency,” he said.
35 black bucks and 11 chinkaras were killed in Tal Chhapar wildlife sanctuary in Churu district. Chhapar sanctuary is one of the few places in India where black bucks are present in large numbers. Of the 35 black bucks that failed to survive Cylone Phet, 12 were adult females. Eight were males and the remaining 15 were fawns.
See also
- Other past cyclones
- Cyclone GonuCyclone GonuCyclone Gonu is the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea, and is also the strongest named cyclone in the northern Indian Ocean...
- Cyclone YemyinCyclone YemyinCyclone Yemyin was a deadly tropical cyclone that made landfalls on India and Pakistan. The Pakistan Meteorological Department referred to Tropical Cyclone 03B as "Tropical Cyclone Yemyin"...
- 2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a very active event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation with some 8 depressions and 6 named storms, nearly above the average of 4-6 storms in the region due to a moderate La Niña...
- Cyclone Gonu
- Related lists
- List of the Most Intense Tropical Cyclones in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal
- List of wettest known tropical cyclones in Pakistan
- Aftermath
- Attabad LakeAttabad LakeAttabad Lake, Gojal, also known as Gojal Lake, is a lake in the Hunza Valley of northern Pakistan created in January 2010 by a landslide dam. The lake was formed due to a massive landslide at Attabad village in Gilgit-Baltistan, upstream of Karimabad that occurred on January 4, 2010. The...
- Attabad Lake