Cyclone Nisarga is likely to enter Madhya Pradesh by Thursday evening from the southern parts of the state, instead of the western parts as predicted earlier, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The cyclone, which hit Maharashtra coast with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph on Wednesday afternoon, has weakened into a "deep depression".
"Our earlier forecast was that Nisarga could enter Madhya Pradesh from Maharashtra between 7 am and 11 am on Thursday from Khandwa, Khargone and Burhanpur. But now this cyclone has lost its intensity and weakened into a low pressure area," IMD's senior scientist Vedprakash Singh Chandel told news agency PTI.
The cyclone made landfall at 12.30 PM near Alibaug in Raigad district, just 95 kilometres from Mumbai. "There was a slight change of direction towards north-eastwards which meant the impact of the cyclone on Mumbai was less severe than originally expected," the IMD said in a statement.
Mumbai witnessed moderate rainfall throughout the afternoon. The wind speed was 26 kilometres per hour. Colaba recorded 23 millimetres and Santacruz recorded 12 millimetres rainfall till 4 PM.
The weather began to clear towards the evening, the IMD said.
By 4 PM, the cyclone had started weakening with wind speeds of 90-100 kilometres per hour.
Two persons died in Pune and one in Raigad district in cyclone-related incidents, state officials said.
Thousands of people had been evacuated in coastal Maharashtra and south Gujarat, trains rescheduled, flights cancelled and fishermen ordered out of the seas as the region braced for the cyclone.
Here are the highlights on Cyclone Nisarga:
In the next 6 hours, it will further weaken into low pressure area over Madhya Pradesh. It is expected to cause some rainfall activity over east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas during next 24 hours: Mrityunjay Mohapatra, Director General, IMD
- ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2020
#CycloneNisarga pic.twitter.com/wjAmmtvUqJ
S-TREE-T Safety!
- Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) June 4, 2020
Strong winds gushing through Mumbai due to #CycloneNisarga ended up uprooting this tree, blocking the lane at Mount Mary. Our friend in Khaki saw it & started clearing the branches till help arrived.
Video captured & sent by a fellow Mumbaikar#TakingOnNisarga pic.twitter.com/4UBFQcDISs
SEVERE CYCLONE STORM "NISARGA" LAY CENTRED AT 0630 HRS IST OF TODAY, THE 03RD JUNE 2020, OVER EAST-CENTRAL ARABIAN SEA NEAR LAT. 17.40°N AND LONG. 72.15°E
- IMD Weather (@IMDWeather) June 3, 2020
155 KM SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF ALIBAGH.
200 KM SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF MUMBAI.
link of hourly bulletin:-https://t.co/ziZUgL7tPe pic.twitter.com/SN8vgu4pVB
The cyclone made landfall at 12.30 PM near Alibaug in Raigad district, just 95 kilometres from Mumbai. "There was a slight change of direction towards north-eastwards which meant the impact of the cyclone on Mumbai was less severe than originally expected," the IMD said in a statement.
