Cyclone Nisarga: Coast Guard vessels are warning fishermen to return to shore
As tropical storm Nisarga, which is very likely to intensify into a "severe cyclonic storm" over the next 12 hours, barrels towards the Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts, visuals have emerged of Coast Guard ships and planes working tirelessly to warn fishermen to return to land.
In the first of two videos, a Coast Guard sailor can be seen speaking into a PA system while another sailor waves a red flag to catch the attention of two small fishing boats several hundred metres away.
"All fishing boats, you are asked to return to shore. This is a warning of heavy rain and bad weather in this area. You are all asked to turn your boats towards the harbour as soon as possible," the sailor can be heard saying.
The same message is delivered in both Hindi and Marathi.
The video then shows two other sailors, wearing yellow life vests, addressing two fishermen on a long and narrow wooden boat a few feet from the Coast Guard ship.
The strong wind whipping around the open seas drowns out most of the message, but the two sailors can be seen talking to fishermen aboard a third boat and pointing towards the shore.
The second video shows a Coast Guard plane flying over small boats and a Coast Guard personnel can be seen using a PA system to shout out weather warnings.
According to the latest reports from the IMD (India Meterological Department), Nisarga is very likely to cross between north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts on Wednesday afternoon as a "severe cyclonic storm". it will have a maximum sustained wind speed of 110 km per hour with gusts up to 120 km per hour and is very likely
A storm surge - as high as two metres above the astronomical tide - will inundate low-lying coastal areas of Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts during the landfall, the weather department added.
Nisarga comes days after another cyclone - Amphan - struck Bengal and parts of Odisha, killing 99 people and affecting lakhs more. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an aerial survey of the region, after which he awarded Rs 1,000 crore aid to Bengal and Rs 500 crore to Odisha.