Cyclone Biparjoy: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has reviewed preparations for the cyclone.
Cyclone Biparjoy passed inland around midnight after a six-hour landfall that pummelled the Gujarat coast, and left a miles wide trail of uprooted trees and power outages in its wake.
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Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday evening after churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days.The wind speed had reached 125 kmph, and 140 kmph in some areas, said Dr M Mohapatra, the chief of Indian Meteorological Office, as the landfall peaked.
Biparjoy has been classified as a Category 3 "very severe cyclonic storm", which is battering parts of the coastal Gujarat. It is now likely to move northeastwards towards Rajasthan and is expected to be weakened by the time it reaches the desert state.
Heavy to extremely rainfall will continue in Suarashtra and Kutch till June 16. Extremely heavy rainfall is likely in Rajasthan on June 16 and 17, as the cyclone moves towards northwest, Mr Mohapatra said.
In Kutch district, the 125 kmph wind left many trees uprooted and pulled down power lines. The sea encroached into low-lying coastal areas. Mandavi town suffered a blackout. No casualties have been reported. Heavy rainfall and strong winds have hit Dwarka, Mandvi, and Morbi. High tidal waves and gusty winds are continuing in Mumbai.
The eye, meaning the centre of the cyclone, is 50 km wide, which is on the larger side. It has hit the coast, brought a lull of sorts. But the wind and rain picked up again once it passed.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has chaired a meeting in Gandhinagar to review preparations for the cyclone. Nearly one lakh people have been evacuated and moved to shelters ahead of the cyclone's landfall. These include people from nearly 20 villages living within 10 km of the coast.
Eighteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), 115 teams of state road and building department, and 397 of the state electricity department are on the ground in coastal districts.
The Defence Ministry has said the Army, Navy, Air Force and Indian Coast Guard have made necessary preparations to provide assistance to the local people.
Fishing activities have been suspended till tomorrow, ports are shut and ships are anchored. Ninety-nine trains will remain cancelled till Sunday as a precautionary measure.Two famous temples -- Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhumi Dwarka and Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district -- remained closed to devotees on Thursday.
Commercial operations at Gujarat's Jamnagar airport have been suspended till Friday. Airport authorities said diesel and petrol required to operate the airport in an emergency have been stored.
