Cyclone Biparjoy makes landfall in Gujarat; strong winds, rains in Kutch & Saurashtra

The process of Cyclone Biparjoy's landfall started in the Saurashtra and Kutch coastline Thursday evening and is expected to be continued till midnight, the India Meteorological Department stated in its latest weather update. IMD has said that a strong wind speed of 60 to 80 kmph is prevailing in the region which is likely to increase upto 125 kmph gusting to 140 kmph.

IMD also warned that heavy rains will continue in the region and will increase gradually. Meanwhile, the state government has evacuated nearly one lakh people from the low-lying areas to safer places. Minister of state for home, Harsh Sanghavi told reporters that 700 electricity poles were uprooted in the cyclone. The IMD has predicted large scale destruction to houses, crops, orchards, roads, electricity, among others in the low-lying areas.

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The state government till late 11 pm didn't release figures related to the damages and casualties. Sources said that thousands of trees and electricity poles were uprooted across the eight affected districts leading to large scale power disruption. A father-son duo died in Bhavnagar while trying to save their cattle from drowning.

Earlier in the day, IMD reported that Biparjoy had weakened slightly on its way to the Kutch and Saurashtra coastline. According to India meteorological department's weather update, the intensity near the centre of the storm was 120-130 kmph gusting at 145 kmph. The cyclone is likely cross Saurashtra, Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi, Gujarat, and Karachi in Pakistan by Thursday night.

Meanwhile, the Bhupendra Patel government said in a statement that more than 94,000 people had been shifted to safe locations including 8,900 children and 1100 pregnant women. Official figures stated that half of the people are from Kutch district with 46,823 while the rest of the affected people are from Porbandar, Junagadh, Gir-Somnath, Jamnagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Morbi and Rajkot in Saurashtra.

A government release said that affected people have been accomodated in 1,521 shelter homes while 76 state-of-the-art multipurpose cyclone shelters (MPCS) are also being used to accommodate evacuees. In another press release, relief commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey was quoted as saying that "Biparjoy has slowed down and expected to make landfall at around 9 to 10 PM with wind speed of 115-125 kmph."

The release said that the forest department has formed 180 teams for ensuring the safety of wildlife. It said that as of Thursday noon, 400 fallen trees in the state were removed and roads were restored. Orders have been issued to district authorities in north Gujarat such as Banaskantha and Patan to be prepared for heavy rains due to the cyclone.

The government stated that as the storm approaches the coast, the wind speed will also increase along with heavy rains. 55 talukas of eight affected districts have already recorded 2248 mm of rain in the last three days. The region is likely to continue to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall for the next two more days.