In Pics: Cyclone Biparjoy Damages Houses, Electric Poles As It Causes Destruction In Gujarat

Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall in Gujarat on Thursday evening and unleashed powerful gusts of wind that ripped up trees and toppled electricity poles. Two people died and 22 were injured as the cyclone barreled inland after making the landfall. Several houses and vehicles were also damaged and over 900 villages were left without electricity.

The cyclone, which had been churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday evening with winds between 125 and 140 kilometres per hour. However, the storm began to weaken a few hours later and by 2:30 am on Friday, it was packing 100 kilometres per hour winds with gusts of up to 110 kilometres per hour.

Heavy rain coupled with winds brought down over 524 trees and electric poles at various places in the state. The supply of power to around 940 villages was also cut off due to Cyclone Biparjoy, according to state officials. Further, a cattle-rearer duo of father and son died while trying to save their goats stuck in a flooded ravine in the Bhavnagar district on Thursday.

In coastal districts, 115 teams from the state's road and building department, 18 teams from the National Disaster Response Force, 12 teams from the State Disaster Response Force, and 397 teams from the state's electrical department are also present. According to the Gujarat government, 94,000 people left coastal and low-lying districts to seek shelter.

The train services have also been impacted by the tropical storm. According to Western Railways, around 99 trains that originate or terminate in Gujarat's Biparjoy-affected areas would continue to be cancelled or short-terminated.

Indian Meteorological Department Director General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that extremely heavy rainfall is likely in Rajasthan on June 16 and 17, as the cyclone moves towards the northwest