Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to hit Gujarat between 6 and 8 pm, bringing strong gusts and heavy rainfall. The IMD’s latest “red message” states that “very severe cyclonic storm at 4:30 pm reached about 80 km west-northwest of Gujarat’s Jakhau port and 130km west-northwest of Devbhumi Dwarka”.
The strong storm will disrupt northeast Arabian Sea sea conditions today, according to India Meteorological Department director-general Mrityunjay Mohapatra. The Gujarat state has moved around 94,000 people from eight coastal districts to temporary shelters.
According to a Gujarat government announcement, 46,800 people have been evacuated from Kutch, 10,749 from Devbhumi Dwarka, 9,942 from Jamnagar, 9,243 from Morbi, 6,822 from Rajkot, 4,864 from Junagadh, 4,379 from Porbandar, and 1,605 from Gir Somnath.
Cyclone Biparjoy LIVE Updates
Nearly 8,900 children, 1,131 pregnant women, and 4,697 elderly were moved to safer areas. These eight districts have 1,521 shelters. “Medical teams visit shelters regularly,” the announcement stated.
Bangladesh’s Cyclone Biparjoy, called “Biporjoy,” will hit Gujarat’s Kutch area near Jakhau Port tonight. The IMD said the strong cyclonic storm would pass Saurashtra and Kutch and the Pakistan coast between Mandvi and Karachi before impacting the port.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has prepared for any emergency as cyclone Biparjoy approaches Gujarat. ICG ships, planes, and radar stations will provide mariner weather alerts. All vulnerable fishing vessels are returned. 15 ships in varied configurations were prepared for emergencies by all oil handling organizations.
Other ICG arrangements:
- For the swift reaction in Kutch, helicopter operations facilities are opened at Okha, Jakhau, and Vadinar.
- All eight coastal ICG stations at top preparedness.
- Mundra-based senior DIG to supervise field units.
- Twenty-three ICG station disaster relief teams assist civil authorities.
Mandvi’s seas were choppy Thursday morning. Local winds were strong. Amit Shah, Mansukh Mandaviya, Rajnath Singh, and Nirmala Sitharaman have been meeting to assess “Biporjoy” readiness. Bhupendra Patel and Ashok Gehlot are also monitoring the weather.
The weather has affected western trains too. 76 trains have been canceled, 36 short-terminated, and 31 short-originated. Western Railways is also protecting train passengers under its domain.
Cyclone Biparjoy LIVE Updates
The Met department said the cyclone would strike with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph and heavy rainfall in Saurashtra-Kutch. The state will see its second cyclone in two years after “Tauktae” in May 2021.
On Thursday, Porbandar, Rajkot, Morbi, Junagadh, and other Saurashtra and North Gujarat districts may get heavy to very severe rain.
On Friday, the IMD predicted light to moderate rainfall with severe to extremely heavy showers in isolated areas across north Gujarat districts and south Rajasthan.
It said Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel met with top officials at the State Emergency Operations Centre in Gandhinagar in the morning to examine the situation and relief efforts.
Another notification stated that Gujarat’s two most famous temples—Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhumi Dwarka and Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district—will be closed to worshipers on Thursday.
