As Cyclone Asna on Saturday steered away from Pakistan’s coastline — lying about 200 kilometres away from Karachi — residents still braced for expected heavy rains brought by the weather system.

A deep depression (a very strong low-pressure area), which the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned on Thursday would bring widespread rainfall, intensified into Cyclone Asna on Friday.

According to a PMD alert issued at 7am today, the cyclone over the northeast Arabian Sea off the Sindh coast has moved further westward during the past nine hours and now lies at around about 200km southwest of Karachi, 220km south-southeast of Ormara and 380km southeast of Gwadar.

“The system is likely to track further west-southwestwards,” the Met Office added.

According to an update on Zoom Earth at 8am — provided via the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) — the cyclonic storm was located 187km southwest of Karachi and has tracked west-northwestward at 13km/h over the past six hours.

It added that Cyclone Asna is expected to minimally intensify to 85km/h in around 12 hours and in 24 hours, a weakening trend will start.

“Weakening to tropical depression strength is expected to occur in around two days,” the JTWC was quoted as saying.

Under its influence, rain-thundershowers with few heavy falls and accompanied with squally winds (60-70km/h gusting 80km/h) were likely today evening/night in the Karachi division as well as in Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Jamshoro and Dadu districts of Sindh.

The PMD said rains of the same intensity were expected in Balochistan’s Hub, Lasbela, Awaran, Kech and Gwadar districts till tomorrow night.

“Heavy rains may create water logging in low-lying areas of Makran coast. Sea conditions are likely to remain rough/very rough with squally winds of 60-70 km/h gusting 80km/h,” the Met Office warned.

It advised fishermen in Sindh not to venture into the sea today and those in Balochistan to not do so till tomorrow.