India, Pakistan evacuate over 180,000 people as cyclone approaches

A man carries a child from a truck during an evacuation before the arrival of cyclone Biparjoy in Jakhau in the western state of Gujarat, India, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

MANDVI, India/KARACHI (Reuters) - Wind speeds and rainfall picked up on India's Gujarat coast late on Thursday, officials said, after authorities there and in neighbouring Pakistan evacuated more than 180,000 people in the path of approaching cyclone Biparjoy.

Biparjoy, which means 'disaster' or 'calamity' in the Bengali language, was centred in the Arabian Sea 50 kilometres (31 miles) off Jakhau port in the western Indian state and 240 km (150 miles) off Pakistan's southern port of Karachi, weather officials said.