Mumbai/New Delhi: Schools, colleges and government offices shut in Mumbai on Wednesday and government officials sounded an alert along India’s western coast as cyclone Phyan headed towards the mainland, packing wind speeds averaging 75km per hour.
Phyan, which formed from a depression in the Arabian Sea, was expected to hit north Maharashtra and south Gujarat late in the night.
Futile attempt: Groundsmen trying to keep the pitch of Mumbai’s DY Patil stadium, where the seventh one-day match was scheduled, dry on Wednesday. According to IMD, more than 25cm of rain may fall on the coastal areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat in the next 36 hours. Shirish Shete / PTI
According to a press bulletin released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in New Delhi, the intensity of the cyclone is expected to abate as it travels inland. Phyan lay 180km off the Mumbai coast when reports last came in and was moving in a north-northeasterly direction.
The cyclone is expected to bring heavy rainfall to the Surat and Junagadh districts of Gujarat. Surat city is a prominent business centre and the hub of India’s diamond-cutting and polishing industry, and Veraval, where the cyclone is expected to impact in Junagadh, hosts several textile units.
In Mumbai, a city of 18 million people, extra buses and trains were pressed into service to make sure residents reached home safely, said Maharashtra chief secretary Johny Joseph.
“We are fully prepared. Disaster management cells are active and we have rescue and relief teams on standby,” Joseph said. Fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea, and people living in low-lying areas asked to move. Flights to and from Mumbai airport were delayed by about 30 minutes because of bad weather, spokesman Manish Kalghatgi said on the phone.
“You can expect heavy rains, high wind speeds, rough seas and strong surges,” said Ajit Tyagi, director general of IMD.
According to IMD, more than 25cm of rain may fall on the coastal areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat in the next 36 hours. In Gujarat, authorities kept vigil in 175 villages in 12 coastal districts and considered evacuating thousands of people to safe areas, said Ranjit Banerjee, a state official dealing with disaster management.
The rains could hamper the crushing of sugar cane in Maharashtra, the country’s top producer of sugar. Harvesting of cotton in Maharashtra and Gujarat has also been affected, officials said.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) said it had suspended all drilling and outdoor operations in the western offshore region, but production wasn’t affected.
“All drilling operations, helicopter sorties and construction and maintenance work has been suspended due to the cyclone warning,” ONGC chairman R.S. Sharma said.
Western offshore contains the nation’s largest oil field. Mumbai High accounts for 40% of the nations’ total crude output.
The final one-day international between Australia and India in Navi Mumbai was called off, as was the first day of Sri Lanka’s tour opener against the Board President’s XI in Mumbai.
A deep depression—a precursor to a cyclone—had formed about 470km west of Mangalore in Karnataka on Tuesday, IMD said. According to its estimates, wind speeds were expected to average 55km per hour in the next 24 hours, under the influence of the landmass along India’s western coastline.
India’s most recent cyclone Aila, that struck Kolkata on 25 May, was classified as a severe cyclonic storm—one level above Phyan—and was characterised by wind speeds ranging from 90-119kmph. Wind speed on a normal day would be between 10kmph and 15kmph and a 25kmph day would be considered windy.
Rina Chandran works with Reuters. PTI, Bloomberg and AP contributed to this story.
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