Biparjoy preparations: Fishing activities curbed, evacuation along Gujarat coasts begins

Fishing activities along Gujarat's south and north coasts have been suspended and authorities began evacuating people in districts by the sea in view of cyclone 'Biparjoy' likely to make landfall along the Saurashtra-Kutch coasts as a very severe cyclonic storm, officials said on Monday.

Officials in coastal Devbhumi Dwarka said around 1,300 people have been shifted to safer places so far in this regard. In its latest bulletin, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' was very likely to move north-northeast and cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) by the noon of June 15 as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kilometres per hours (kmph) gusting to 150 kmph.

As of Sunday night, the extremely severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy lay about 540 km west of Mumbai, 360 km southwest of Porbandar, 400 km south-southwest of Devbhumi Dwarka, 490 km south-southwest of Naliya and 660 km south of Karachi in Pakistan, it said.

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The state government has begun preparations to deal with the fallout of the cyclone as it will bring very strong wind and heavy rainfall in the region, officials said. Section 144,which bars assembly of persons higher than a figure mandated by authorities, has been imposed in coastal areas of Kutch district, with the local administration working to evacuate people from areas close to the sea in the districts in Saurashtra-Kutch regions, they added.

Warning signals have been hoisted along the coasts for fishermen, who have been advised not to venture into the central Arabian Sea till June 15, and north Arabian Sea on Monday, the officials said, adding fishermen out at sea have been advised to return to the coast. The Centre has directed the state government to regulate onshore and offshore activities and mobilise evacuation from coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch from districts including Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagadh and Morbi.

The IMD has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with isolated extremely heavy rainfall in the districts of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar on June 15. A few places in other districts of Saurashtra region close to the coast will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall, while isolated places in north Gujarat districts will also receive heavy rainfall, the IMD added.

The IMD has also said storm surge of about 2-3 metres above the astronomical tide is likely to inundate low lying areas in the above districts during the time of landfall, and wind speed may reach up to 190 kmph in the sea. The IMD has warned of wind speed of up to 120-130 kmph gusting to 145 kmph from the morning of June 15 when the cyclone makes landfall in Saurashtra Kutch region. Sea conditions are likely to remain rough to very rough till the evening of Wednesday, and high to phenomenal thereafter till the noon of June 15 before improving, it said.