No Lives Lost After Cyclone Biparjoy Landfall In Gujarat

After travelling in the Arabian Sea for 10 days, the severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy packed with high wind speeds - struck the Jakhau port in Gujarat on Thursday evening, causing damage and destruction along the state's coastline.

No lives were lost after Cyclone Biparjoy made a landfall in Gujarat, however, 23 people were injured and electricity supply was disrupted in about 1,000 villages in the state, NDRF Director General Atul Karwal said on Friday.

Karwal said while two lives, unfortunately, were lost before the landfall, not a single human life was lost post the landfall in Gujarat.

This is because of the efforts of the Gujarat administration and other agencies that worked to ensure the least loss of life and property, he added.

The Director General (DG) National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said at least 23 people were injured due to the cyclonic effect.

He said about 1,000 villages were facing electricity disruption in the state. The DG added that about 40 per cent disruptions alone were in Kutch district that bore the maximum brunt of the cyclone.

"No human death has been reported so far due to cyclone Biparjoy. The biggest achievement for the state is that not a single human death has been reported so far. This was possible because of our collective efforts," state Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Biparjoy unleashed destructive wind speeds of up to 140 kmph and incessant rains as trees and electricity poles were uprooted, while seawater entered villages located in low-lying areas.

Heavy rains coupled with gusty winds brought down over 524 trees and electric poles at various places in Gujarat, snapping the supply of power to around 940 villages.

A cattle-rearer duo of father and son died while trying to save their goats stuck in a flooded ravine in Bhavnagar district on Thursday.

Howling winds yanked hundreds of trees, damaged communication towers, toppled electricity poles, flung solid objects, and raised dusty squalls that virtually resulted in zero visibility in some areas.

Cyclone Biparjoy weakens

The landfall process of the 'very severe cyclonic storm' Biparjoy commenced at around 6.30pm along the coast of Saurashtra-Kutch, and was completed after midnight.

Cyclone Biparjoy, which was churning across the Arabian Sea for more than 10 days, was located around 20km southwest of Jakhau port, 120km northwest of Devbhumi Dwarka and 50 km west-southwest of Naliya.

The cyclone is now expected to move northeastwards with heavy rains in Rajasthan, the weather department said. Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to weaken further by Friday morning and turn into a 'depression' by the evening, according to the IMD.

The IMD has issued warning about extensive damage to temporary housing structures and falling of trees and branches due to high-speed winds, high tides and heavy rainfall.