Cyclone Biparjoy: 8 States On High Alert, Schools Shut In Gujarat

Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to land on Gujarat's Saurashtra and Kutch regions and adjoining Pakistan coasts on June 15, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.

In anticipation of the cyclone, the IMD has issued a weather warning for several states and UTs, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, and Lakshadweep.

While fishing activities have been suspended till June 16 in Gujarat, ports are shut and ships are anchored as the sea turned very rough and weather became inclement with extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds in the region due to the approaching cyclone.

The authorities have declared a two-day holiday has been declared in the schools of Kutch, Porbandar, Amreli, Gir Somnath, and Dwarka districts of Gujarat, in view of the cyclone.

The powerful cyclone will make landfall near Jakhau port on the evening of June 15, according to the IMD.

'VSCS (very severe cyclonic storm) BIPARJOY over the Arabian Sea moved north-northwestward and lay centered at 2.30 IST of 14th June, about 280 km WSW of Jakhau port. To cross near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by the evening of 15th June as VSCS,' the IMD said.

The Gujarat government has evacuated 37,794 people living along the coastline so far.

The cyclone has 'extensive damaging potential' and is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts the most, the IMD has said.

"The state government is aiming to evacuate people residing within 10 km from the shore, said an official. So far, one fatality related to the cyclone has been recorded," Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said.

The government said 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are on standby in the districts of Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Morbi and Valsad.

The cyclone is likely to hit the shore near Jakhau port between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan with sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph on Thursday evening.