Cyclone Biparjoy: Over 37,000 evacuated from coastal areas; CM Bhupendra Patel holds emergency meeting

Cyclone Biparjoy: Thousands of people have been evacuated from the coastal region of Gujarat and the centre and state governments are keenly watching all the preparedness to avoid casualties of humans and animals. According to the India Meteorological Department, cyclone Biparjoy is barreling towards the Kutch coast, Gujarat and it will make landfall near Jakhau port on the evening of 15 June.

So far, the state government has evacuated 37,800 people living near the sea in eight districts of the state and shifted them to safer shelter houses.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the state government’s emergency operations centre yesterday night and reviewed the preparedness.

According to weather officials, cyclone Biparjoy is considered detrimental as it may cause a wide range of damages to the coastal region of Gujarat. Some experts are projecting that Biparjoy will damage thatched houses, pucca houses, uproot electric towers, and trees, and inundate several districts.

The cyclone has “extensive damaging potential” and is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, and Jamnagar districts the most, an IMD official said in a statement.

The state government is aiming to evacuate people residing within 10 km of the shore. So far, one fatality related to the cyclone has been recorded, as per an agency's report.

The government said 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are on standby in the districts of Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Morbi, and Valsad. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also visited the Airforce station and reviewed the preparations made by the 'Garuda' Emergency Response Team.

Cyclone Biparjoy is likely to hit the shore near Jakhau port between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan with sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph on Thursday evening (June 15).

The met department has predicted extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds in coastal parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region, especially in the districts of Kutch, Porbandar, and Devbhumi Dwarka.

After it makes landfall and weakens, Biparjoy is likely to remain north-eastward and is expected to move towards extreme south Rajasthan. It is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rain in north Gujarat between June 15-17.

Fishing activities have been suspended till June 16, ports are shut and ships are anchored as the sea turned turbulent and weather became inclement with extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds in the region due to the approaching cyclone.