KARACHI, Pakistan, June 7 (UPI) -- Killer storm Phet, which
hit Oman with cyclonic force, turned its fury on Pakistan, leaving
more death and destruction in the Sindh Province.
As Phet, spawned in the Arabian Sea, made landfall in
coastal Sindh Sunday night, its outer edges unleashed heavy storms
around Karachi, the provincial capital and Pakistan's largest city
and main port.
A provincial official told CNN seven people were
electrocuted. Other details were not immediately available.
Pakistani helicopters alerted fishermen near Karachi and
parts of Balochistan about the approaching storm. But Pakistan's
Dawn newspaper reported two boats with 15 fishermen had yet to
return to port.
The Times of London reported tens of thousands of people
were forced to leave coastal villages in Sindh as the storm
approached. Authorities had earlier evacuated more than 60,000
people from the coastal areas.
Pakistan's chief meteorologist, Mohammad Riaz, said the
storm could move further east toward India.
In Karachi, hospitals remained on alert and stockpiled
essential items and medicine as the storm threatened to disrupt
power and communications with torrential rains.
In Oman, Phet dumped up to 10 inches of rain, flooding the
capital Muscat and lashing it with very high winds, CNN reported.
Phet killed at least 16 people in the past two days in Oman,
China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local media.
Rains had stopped in Muscat Monday and life was said to be returning
to normal.
Omani officials said the sultanate's air force helicopters
searched for missing people and were available to rescue those
trapped in flooding, especially in the eastern parts.
A dam under construction in Oman was reported to be badly
damaged by the storm.
The Press Trust of India put the death toll in Oman at 24.
That included a meteorological department official, who was swept
away by the high currents in Muscat.
In Pakistan, weather experts told the News International the
storm made landfall Sunday night in Sindh's coastal areas of Badin
and Thatta districts, bringing heavy flooding in those areas.
The storm was expected to weaken into a depression in the
next 12 hours but heavy rains and high winds were in the forecast
for the next 24 hours in the region that included Karachi.


--
Martin Rowley
West Moors, East Dorset (UK): 17m (56ft) amsl
Lat: 50.82N Long: 01.88W
NGR: SU 082 023