Biparjoy landfall tomorrow; 30K people from coastal dists shifted
The Army has kept flood relief columns ready at strategic locations.
People evacuated from Kandla port at a shelter on Tuesday
JAKHAU/AHMEDABAD: Authorities on Tuesday shifted 30,000 people from coastal areas to temporary shelters two days before powerful cyclone Biparjoy’s expected landfall near Jakhau port in Gujarat’s Kutch district.
An official said several NDRF and SDRF teams are on standby. Simultaneously, Army authorities have jointly planned relief operations with civil administration and National Disaster Response Force. The Army has kept flood relief columns ready at strategic locations.
In a virtual meeting to take stock of the cyclone preparedness, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the Gujarat government to make arrangements for moving people living in sensitive places to safer areas and ensure all necessary services, such as electricity, telecommunication, health and drinking water.
The meeting was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, two Union ministers, several Gujarat ministers and MPs, MLAs and officials from eight districts that are likely to be affected by the cyclone.
“We have already started evacuating people residing near the coast who are likely to be affected the most during the landfall. So far, various district administrations have shifted nearly 30,000 people to temporary shelters,” said State Commissioner of Relief, Alok Kumar Pandey.
The state government is aiming to evacuate people within 10 km of the coast, he said, adding that so far one fatality related to the cyclone has been recorded. Ahmedabad IMD director Manorama Mohanty said the cyclone is likely to cross between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan near Jakhau port with 125-135 kmph wind speed gusting to 150 kmph on the evening of June 15.
A warning has been issued for 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, she said.
“After it makes landfall and weakens, the movement of the cyclone is likely to remain north-eastward and it is expected to move towards extreme south Rajasthan. It will bring heavy to very heavy rain in north Gujarat till June 15-17,” Mohanty said.
Fishing activities have been suspended till June 16, ports are shut and ships are anchored as the sea turned very rough.
