Cyclone Biparjoy Makes Landfall in Gujarat, 3 Injured; Strong Winds, Rains Continue | 10 Points

At least three people were injured, trees and electric polls were uprooted and a few houses got damaged as ‘very severe’ cyclonic storm Biprajoy made the landfall near Jakhau port in Gujarat’s Kutch district after churning across the Arabian Sea for over 10 days. Several relief and rescue teams remained alert as about one lakh people were evacuated to safer places in the state. As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the landfall process will continue midnight.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel over the phone and inquired about the situation in the state amid the landfall process of cyclonic storm. He also inquired about the arrangements made for the safety of animals at Gir Forest.

Strong winds and heavy rains lashed Kutch and Saurashtra coasts in Gujarat. “Dense convective clouds have entered Kutch and Devbhumi Dwarka districts and therefore, the landfall process has commenced. It will continue until midnight," IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, adding that the eye of the cyclone is around 50 km in diametre.

Here are 10 key points:

1. At least three people were injured in incidents of treefall in Gujarat’s Devbhoomi Dwarka district, officials said. Many trees and electricity poles were uprooted near Jakhau and Mandvi towns in Kutch district while tin sheets used in house construction were blown away.
2. Dwarka, Okha, Naliya, Bhuj, Porbandar and Kandla along Gujarat coasts received heavy rainfall since Thursday morning. The coastal area witnessed strong winds of up to 50 kmph, the IMD said.
3. The Gujarat administration said it shifted over 94,000 persons living in eight coastal districts to temporary shelters till Thursday evening.
4. Met Director Manorama Mohanty told news agency ANI that the wind speed of the cyclone is between 115 to 125 per km hour at 10:30 pm. “It can also go up to 140 km per hour. By midnight, the wind speed might decrease," Mohanty added.
5. The Met office had earlier warned of very heavy (11.5 cm to 20.4 cm) to extremely heavy rainfall (over 20.5 cm) in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot, Morbi and Junagarh districts. It said the cyclone would cause ‘astronomical tide’ with a storm surge of 2-3 metres height that could inundate low-lying areas in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar and Morbi districts during the landfall.
6. The Indian Air Force’s assets are in operational readiness for relief and rescue work that would follow cyclone’s landfall, the IAF said on Thursday. “IAF assets in operational readiness for relief and rescue operations that would follow the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy. IAF is committed to assisting fellow citizens to tackle contingencies that arise due to the cyclone," the IAF tweeted earlier in the day.
7. According to officials, 15 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 12 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) as well as personnel of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Border Security Force (BSF) have been deployed for relief and rescue operations.
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   Speaking to news agency ANI, Narendra Singh Bundela, IG, NDRF said the main impact will be in Gujarat’s Kutch area and south area of Rajasthan. “Heavy rains are expected and chances of flood are also there," he added. In view of the alert, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot cautioned people in Barmer and Jalore to stay alert ahead of the impending cyclone.
   
   
   
9. The IMD also said Madhya Pradesh’s Indore and Ujjain districts may see gusty winds and light rainfall in the next 24 hours due to cyclone Biparjoy. “The severe cyclonic storm made landfall on the Kutch coast in neighbouring Gujarat earlier in the day. Isolated places in Indore and Ujjain districts might witness light showers with gusty winds in the next 24 hours, but otherwise Madhya Pradesh would not see much effect of Biparjoy," said IMD Bhopal centre director R Balasubramanian.
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    The coastal regions of Pakistan were also on high alert with over 82,000 people being evacuated to safer places in the southern Sindh province due to the cyclone. Biparjoy, meaning disaster or calamity in Bengali, is inching closer to Pakistan, prompting authorities to take preventive measures to minimise the damage it may cause to life and property in the coastal region of the country which was hard hit by the devastating floods last year.

    
    

    (with inputs from PTI)