Now named Phyan, the cyclone was about 250 km directly west of Goa at 2.30 a.m. on Thursday, the IMD said on its website, even as it it issued an "orange" alert. That is one step below the red alert put out for a really severe cyclone.

At that hour, Phyan was 420 km south-southwest of Mumbai and 670 km south-southwest of Surat in south Gujarat.
"The system is likely to intensify further and move north-northeastwards and cross south Gujarat and north Maharashtra coast between Mahuva and Dahanu by early hours of Nov 12," the website reported.

Fishermen have already been warned not to go out to sea, and oil rigs in Bombay High were battening down, according to local media reports.The IMD expects that maximum sustained surface wind speed under the influence of Cyclone Phyan will be 70-80 kmph around 11.30 p.m. Wednesday, gusting up to 90 kmph.

The Met department said this morning that the cyclone will lead to "rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and isolated extremely heavy fall (over or equal to 25 cm) over Konkan and Goa and Madhya Maharashtra during next 36 hours".

"Rainfall at many places with heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places is likely over coastal Karnataka during next 24 hours. Rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and isolated extremely heavy falls (over or equal to 25 cm) is likely to commence over south Gujarat from today  afternoon.

"Squally winds with speed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph struck the  Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra coasts during the day. Sea condition will be very rough over along and off Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra coasts. Squally wind speed reaching 55-65 gusting to 75 kmph is likely to commence along and off south Gujarat coast from today afternoon."