Alert Sounded As Cyclone Biparjoy Nears Gujarat Coast; High Tides, Rain In Mumbai

The cyclonic storm Biparjoy is likely to cross parts of the Gujarat coast on June 15 as a very severe cyclonic storm with wind speed reaching 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph, India Meteorological Department has warned on Sunday.

The exact place where the cyclone will make landfall is not known yet. However, an alert has been sounded along and off the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts in view of the impending landfall.

Very severe cyclonic storm, Biparjoy over eastcentral Arabian Sea moved north-northeastwards with a speed of 9 kmph during past 6 hours, intensified into an Extremely Very Severe Cyclonic Storm with a wind speed of 165 to 175 kmph gusting to 195 kmph and lay about 580 km west-southwest of Mumbai, 480 km south-southwest of Porbandar, 530 km south-southwest of Dwarka, 610 km south-southwest of Naliya and 780 km south of Karachi.

The government of Gujarat has taken all precautionary measures to deal with Cyclone Biparjoy and is in readiness for restoration of services after the cyclone makes the landfall.

Kutch, Jamnagar, Morbi, Gir Somnath, Porbandar, and Devbhumi Dwarka districts are likely to be impacted by the cyclone with heavy rainfall and very high wind speed during June 13-15 which may go up to 150 kmph, the IMD said.

At 4:30 pm on Sunday, the extremely severe cyclonic storm "Biparjoy" over east central Arabian Sea moved northeastward with a speed of 8 kmph.

It lays centred about 550 km west of Mumbai, 450 km south-southwest of Porbandar, 490 km south-southwest of Dwarka and 570 km south-southwest of Naliya in Kutch and 750 km south of Karachi in Pakistan, the Met department said.

"It is very likely to cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) by noon on June 15 as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph," IMD said.

A cyclone moving over the land after its intensification in the ocean is said to make landfall when the centre of the storm (eye) moves across the coast.