the damage was staggering and the destruction, complete. One of worst cyclones in Pakistan’s history left a trail of death and devastation in the districts of Thatta and Badin in the southern province of Sindh on May 20, 1999. Tidal waves as high as six metres hit many villages in the two districts while the villagers were asleep. The cyclone “2A”, or Hurricane Thuth, travelling at a speed of 273 km per hour, and the accompanying deluge battered the two districts for around 36 hours, destroying around 50,000 houses. Conservative estimates put the number feared dead at around 500, while around 6,000 are reported missing. Government officials, however, say the death toll is below 200.

Across the international boundary, though the cyclone brushed past the Indian state of Gujarat, it claimed more than 300 lives, most of whom were at sea when the cyclone struck.The death count on land was comparatively less, due to timely warnings by the meteorological department, says S R Kalsi, the deputy director general of cyclone warning at the Indian Meteorological Department, New Delhi.
The beginningThe killer cyclone took shape in the Arabian Sea with wind speeds of 160-200 km per hour. It changed its course, narrowly missing Gujarat, and vent its fury on the Pakistani coastal towns of Keti Bandar and Shah Bandar. Karachi was spared as the cyclone took an unexpected turn and headed east. “The high-speed winds moving northwards from the sea struck Gujarat earlier than expected but it was Pakistan that was hit harder,” says Kalsi.

“The waves were horrifying and devoured three of my children like a dragon. I tried to save them but I was helpless,” says 30-year-old Mehmant Soomar, of Raj Mallah in Thatta district, trying to come to terms with what had happened. After two nightmarish days, he and his wife were the only survivors from his family and, along with a thousand others, have taken refuge at a relief camp.

The districts of Thatta and Badin were totally inundated. At least 30 per cent of the houses, shops, poultry farms and other structures were completely destroyed and thousands of heads of cattle killed, said the army spokesperson. The people have been reduced to paupers overnight by the cyclone, says a district official.

“More than 164 bodies were recovered from Raj Malik village in the Thatta district alone, some were lying submerged in the mud while others were found in trees,” says Mumtaz Uqali, deputy commissioner of Thatta. Around 450 fisherfolk, who ventured into the sea on that fateful night, are still missing.

The hurricane showed no mercy to “the children of the sea,” as the Sindh fisherfolk refer to themselves. “Hundreds of small to medium boats have been lost,” says Arab Malah, president of the Provincial Fishermen’s Society. “It is too early to assess the damage,” says Naik Mohammad Jokhi, the additional deputy commissioner of Thatta. Communication links with the rest of the country have been cut off.

Over 10,000 Navy and Army personnel have been deployed for relief and rescue measures in the two worst-hit districts. Officials say that relief efforts have covered 80 per cent of the affected areas, though 4,000 villages in the coastal areas are yet to be reached. Around 90 per cent of farmland of these two districts have been totally destroyed, says Maj Gen Khalid Munir who is the general officer commanding of the Hyderabad division. According to Javed Ashraf Hussain, relief commissioner, around 285,000 hectares (ha) of cropped land in Thatta and 115,000 ha in Badin have been affected. Around 23 relief camps have been set up and are accommodating 150,000 villagers. The district administration has dispatched medical teams to the affected areas to prevent epidemics.

According to naval personnel, many people are still marooned in over 100 pockets along the coastline. The prio