Cyclone Yemyin kills six in Pakistan

GWADAR: Cyclone Yemyin lashed Pakistan's southern coast on Tuesday, killing six people, leaving dozens missing and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, officials said.   

The storm packed winds of up to 80 miles an hour as it made landfall over southwestern Baluchistan province, the director general of the Pakistan meteorological department, Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry, said.   

Yemyin arrived three days after another storm killed at least 228 people in the southern port city of Karachi and seven others in sparsely-populated Baluchistan.   

Forecasters said a 7.6-metre storm surge was feared.   

"The cyclone is likely to cause widespread destruction and coastal flooding along Baluchistan coast due to extremely heavy rainfall, gale winds and associated storm surge," Chaudhry said.   

But he added that the intensity had reduced during the last six hours.   

Pakistani navy and coastguard helicopters and ships rescued around 25 people from two ships stranded off the coast, but were searching for another 30 fishermen whose boats sank, said navy spokesman commander Salman Ali.   

Private emergency services said that two Hindu pilgrims on their way to a shrine had drowned after becoming trapped in a rainwater drain in Baluchistan's Lasbella district overnight, while 15 others were stranded or missing.   

Residents said the cyclone had severed road and telephone links to the affected coastal region, which includes the Chinese-funded, multi-million-dollar deep sea port of Gwadar.   

Officials declared an emergency in Gwadar and shifted more than 8,000 people inland from the town's harbour area. Thousands of people were evacuated from dozens of other coastal towns.   

In the nearby village of Gador 550 families -- equivalent to around 3,000 people -- had been evacuated after sea water entered their homes, local mayor Aslam Gador said.   

The meteorological office's Chaudhry said that the "worst appears to be over" for southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, but that widespread rains would continue until late Tuesday.   

Four people including an eight-year-old boy were electrocuted by powerlines brought down by the rain and winds overnight in Karachi, hospital sources said.   

The cyclone moved away from Karachi overnight after coming to within 90 kilometres late Monday.   

Parts of the sprawling city of 12 million people however remained without electricity or drinking water after the weekend's storm. Several riots have broken out over the situation.   

Cyclone Yemyin is the second major storm of the North Indian Ocean Cyclone season after Cyclone Gonu hit Oman, Iran and parts of southwest Pakistan in early June, killing more than 60 people.