Cyclone Biparjoy, a powerful storm that originated as a depression in the Arabian Sea, has wreaked havoc in parts of India and Pakistan. The cyclone, first noted by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on June 6, intensified into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm before making landfall in Naliya, India, on June 16.
(AP Photo/Ajit Solanki via The San Diego Union Tribune) (Ajit Solanki / Associated Press)
As of Tuesday, June 20, 2023, over 173,000 people have been displaced due to Cyclone Biparjoy.
- In India, over 100,000 people were evacuated and brought to relief camps.
- In Pakistan, 73,000 people have been displaced so far.
In India, fishing was suspended, schools were closed, and operations at most oil rigs and ports were suspended. A total of 67 trains were cancelled and people were banned from using the beaches in the state. Cumulatively, 30 teams of the national and state disaster response forces were deployed.
In Pakistan, ships and boats were moved from some areas of the country’s coast. Hospitals were put on high alert, and auditoriums in schools and other government buildings were converted into relief camps to shelter displaced people.
Cyclone Biparjoy’s impact has been far-reaching, affecting various regions of both countries. In India, it has caused significant environmental disturbances, including excessive rainfall to Gujarat and Rajasthan, leading to a rainfall deficit in states like Karnataka. The cyclone also triggered heatwaves in northern parts of the country, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The World Health Organization has mobilized health sector partners for initiating a preparedness and response plan for Tropical Cyclone Biparjoy.
Situation Reports & Data Updates
To support coordination among the emergency response community, our team at CrisisReady is generating periodic situation reports to monitor the aftermath of Cyclone Biparjoy in Gujarat, India, which was one of the areas hit hardest by the disaster. The reports shed light on evolving patterns of displacement, assess preexisting population vulnerabilities, and provide information on healthcare facilities in the affected areas.
The reports also contain mobility matrices, which provide a summary of the broad patterns of movement between administrative units during the crisis event. These matrices depict the most common mobility routes from one area to another. If the “from” and “to” areas are the same, it indicates that movement is occurring within the same city or town.
Mobility is determined using data from Data for Good at Meta.
*Note: Data on health infrastructure is taken from healthsites.io and should not be considered comprehensive outside of the total of hospitals.
All CrisisReady data reports can be found on ReliefWeb. CrisisReady’s organization page can be found here.
Sun, June 18, 2023
Gujarat India | 04:30 IST (GMT+5:30)
This report provides information on population density changes in Gujarat, India, as of Sunday, June 18 at 4:30 a.m. local time.
The report also provides information on preexisting population vulnerabilities and healthcare facilities in the affected regions.
Key Observations on Movement
- The following areas experienced population declines ranging between -14% to -77% below baseline on the morning of June 18, 2023:
- Banas Kantha
- Rajsamand
- Diu
- Barmer
- Devbhumi Dwarka
- Sirohi
- Kachchh
- Jalor
- The greatest decrease in population occurred in Kachchh, which saw a decline of more than 36,000 people (-52%) at the time of analysis.
- The majority of movement from Kachchh was directed towards Ahmedabad.
- The following areas experienced population increases — some as high as +6% above baseline — on the morning of June 18, 2023:
- Vadodara
- Anand
- Rajkot
- Bharuch
- Based on the mobility matrix, the most significant increased rate of transit was between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, where outflows were increased by +4% and inflows by +7%.
Header image: IANS (via The Weather Channel)
