QUETTA: Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said on Wednesday that an emergency has been imposed in the coastal belt as Cyclone Nilofar was approaching the port city of Gwadar and other coastal towns of the province.

The chief minister visited the office of provincial disaster management authority and reviewed arrangements to cope with natural disasters in Balochistan. Home Minister Balochistan, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti and others also accompanied him.

“We have stopped fishermen from fishing inside the Arabian Sea,” Dr Baloch said.

The Balochistan government has already imposed ban on entry of fishermen from Wednesday morning till Friday as Cyclone Nilofar nears Gwadar and other coastal towns.

Know more: Pakistan's coastal areas brace for Cyclone Nilofar

Cyclone Nilofar will bring torrential rains, thunderstorms and gusty winds in the Arabian Sea, Home Department Balochistan said in a statement issued the other day.

Commissioner Mekran Division, Abdul Fateh Bhangar told Dawn.com that 2,000 boats were evacuated from Arabian sea near Gwadar, Pasni and Jewni. He said that fishermen were also shifted to safer places as Cyclone Nilofar was gradually approaching the coastal belt of Balochistan.

The chief minister said precautionary measures were being adapted on the coastal belt to avoid any human loss. He said Balochistan was prone to natural disasters including earthquakes, flash-floods and drought.

“Currently Zhob, Noshki, Dera Bugti and other districts are faced with drought hit like situation,” he said. Dr Baloch stated that global warming had direct impacts on climate change in Balochistan, Pakistan's geographically important province.

“We have allocated Rs1 billion to cope with drought in the province,” the chief minister said.

Dr Baloch also formed a committee comprising Home Minister Bugti and his Adviser on Livestock, Obaidullah Jan Babat to assess expected damages as result of the continued drought.

He said Balochistan's economy was dependent on livestock and agriculture, adding that drought was damaging both. “We will evolve a strategy to overcome the situation.”