18 killed as cyclone strikes

Cyclone Yemyin packed winds of up to 130 kms an hour as it made landfall over the south-western province of Balochistan, said Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry, director general of the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

At least two Pakistani fishing boats were reported to have sunk in the Arabian Sea and several more were missing with their crews, sparking a desperate search by navy and coast guard helicopters and ships.

Yemyin barrelled in three days after Karachi was lashed by torrential rains and thunderstorms, which killed over 350 people in the region over the weekend.

Forecasters said a 7.6-metre 25-feet-high storm surge was feared.

8220;The cyclone is likely to cause widespread destruction and coastal flooding along the Balochistan coast due to extremely heavy rainfall, gale winds and associated storm surge,8221; Chaudhry said. But he added that the cyclone8217;s intensity has been falling.

At least 10 people, four of them children, were killed in Balochistan, mainly by flooded rivers in coastal areas, provincial government spokesman Raziq Bugti said.

This figure is believed to include two Hindu pilgrims whom reportedly drowned after getting trapped in a rainwater drain.

Bodies of three fishermen were recovered from Keti Bandar, a coastal town in Sindh province, said a fishermen association official. The cyclone and rain damaged about 1,000 houses in Keti Bandar, Shah Bandar, Jati and other areas of Thatta and Badin districts, he said.

Hundreds have been shifted to camps in government schools in the area, he added.