KARACHI: There was an unwavering calm in the coastal area of Ibrahim Hyderi with fishermen at the main dock busy putting away the catch on Tuesday though news reports were coming in from different sources that a cyclone would soon hit the coasts of Pakistan and India.

Despite the easy demeanour of the fishermen, the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) claimed to have pulled back around 350 boats so far from the sea following the meteorological department warning about the approaching cyclone Nilofar but 150 boats were still being searched. “We have circulated information through wireless, mobile phones and even by word of mouth to all the fishermen and their associates around the area to come back. Those who have gone deep into the sea, making it around 150 boats, are being searched at the moment and being informed of the situation as well. Even if we reach one of them it would be enough to inform all of them.”

Know more: Cyclone 'Nilofar' will bring heavy rains to Pakistan coast

However, he said, not a single person in the area had shifted to a safe place so far. Fishermen said that even if they were evacuated, “where has the administration made arrangements for their shelter and food?”

A meeting between members of the provincial disaster management authority and the Sindh government earlier in the day decided to evacuate people from vulnerable areas and putting them in camps before Saturday, as around 300,000 people from the coastal areas, according to their estimate, are at risk of being displaced.

Qasim Tayyab, 50, a fisherman for the past three decades, was resting in his boat after rushing to the dock early morning. He said he would not leave the place of his birth, “no matter how bad it is, to settle in a tent”.

Known in his circle of friends for having the wisdom to predict when the cyclone would hit the coast, he said, the signs were usually visible. “At times there are bubbles in the water, while sometimes colour of the sea changes when a cyclone is approaching. But unfortunately due to man-made changes, the colour of the sea is barely recognisable anymore to predict anything. So this time around, it was the Met Office that has informed us,” he added candidly, as others on the boat laughed along with him.

A kilometre from the main dock, PFF senior programme manager Mustafa Gurgaze sounded far more serious about the impending situation when he said people in Ibrahim Hyderi and other coastal areas had developed the habit of relying on themselves during such situations due to poor response of successive governments over the years. “There are quite a lot of loopholes in our government’s response to a disaster. A cyclone will come when it has to, but there needs to be a contingency plan,” he said.

Mangroves destruction

Mr Gurgaze said it was lack of understanding on the part of the relevant authorities that “plants and forestation, which work as a natural shield in averting such disasters,” were being destroyed in the name of development. “The continuing development near the sea needs to be looked into as well. We need to question the people who are selling the land without taking into account its environmental impact,” he said.

To avert such natural disasters in future, he said, there were three long-term solutions: “Firstly, the mangroves destruction must be stopped immediately. Secondly, replant mangroves in the areas where mangroves had been cut down incessantly. Thirdly, we need to invest in riverine forests, which protect areas along river banks from floods.”

Karachi’s chief weatherman Tauseef Alam said the “wind speed, which will be around 85 knots, will be detrimental to all those living near the coastal lines. And the people must be evacuated as soon as possible regardless of what they say.”

Around evening as the last one of the boats reached the dock and cleaned, fisherman Illahi Bukhsh responded to the remarks reportedly made by a senior official earlier during the day and said: “If Abdullah Shah Ghazi has to do everything for the city, then he should be given an extra charge of police and Rangers also, as we are used to taking care of ourselves.”

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2014