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Cyclone Vayu Highlights: Storm heads for Oman without making landfall in Gujarat

By Anuj Cariappa

| Updated: Friday, June 14, 2019, 1:05 [IST]

Gandhinagar, June 13: Cyclone Vayu which had intensified into a 'very severe cyclonic storm' changed its course and headed towards Oman without hitting the Gujarat coast. The authorities would however continue to remain in high alert and the storm did cause cause heavy rainfall in some areas.

All precautions were taken and NDRF teams were on full alert as the cyclone was expected to hit Gujarat near Porbandar on Thursday. It changed its course but passed close to Veraval, Porbandar and Dwarka regions. The effect of Cyclone Vayu will be seen on the coastal regions for the next few days.

Cyclone Vayu LIVE: Storm not to hit Gujarat, likely to bring heavy rainfall in coastal districts — Fishermen move their boats to a safer place along the shore

[The 'VAYU' bulletin: What to expect, storm surge warning and action suggested] [The 'VAYU' bulletin: What to expect, storm surge warning and action suggested]

Vayu, which intensified into a "severe cyclonic storm" brought with it heavy rain and strong winds. Low-lying coastal areas of Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Porbandar, Junagarh, Diu, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts were likely to be flooded after landfall. Schools and colleges in the coastal districts are closed on June 14.

Cyclone Vayu: Here are all the updates

Newest First Oldest First

8:09 PM, 13 Jun

"According to IMD bulletin Cyclone Vayu which was going to hit Gujarat has moved towards Oman. But still for 24 hrs administration will be on high alert, schools of 10 districts will stay closed tomorrow," says Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

7:36 PM, 13 Jun

We have been monitoring it since last Saturday, took pre-emptive actions and ensured that there are no fishermen or boats out in the sea. We are monitoring the current situation and are fully prepared, says Iqbal Singh Chauhan, DIG of Coast Guard, as per ANI.

7:34 PM, 13 Jun

In view of cyclone Vayu, Western Railways has cancelled nine trains and short terminated four other trains on Thursday, taking the total number of affected trains to 123, ANI reported.

7:34 PM, 13 Jun

"ndian Navy Ships in Chennai, Gomati and Deepak at Mumbai have been embarked with high availability disaster recovery (HADR)/ relief material, and are ready to be deployed at short notice. In addition, 5000 litre of drinking water is also being embarked on board the Indian Navy ships. Seven Indian Navy aircraft and three helicopters are standby for deployment," reports quoted Rajnath Singh as saying.

5:52 PM, 13 Jun

The cyclone will move in the north-northwest direction for some time, and later it will move northwestwards. It will skirt along the Saurashtra coast with a wind-speed of 90-100kmph, gusting to 110KMPH, says IMD Gujarat.

5:50 PM, 13 Jun

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in the low-lying areas of the coastal districts of Gir Somnath, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Amreli, Bhavnagar and Devbhoomi Dwarka; in addition to Diu, an IMD Gujarat statement said.

4:38 PM, 13 Jun

The Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has sought a report over some cruise ships operating in the Mandovi river here located close to the Arabian Sea despite a warning of rough weather along the state coast due to cyclone Vayu.

4:38 PM, 13 Jun

Power supply has been disrupted in nearly 560 villages of Gujarat due to cyclone Vayu and all efforts are on to restore it.

3:58 PM, 13 Jun

IMD said that Cyclone Vayu is now moving northwestwards and has started skirting Saurashtra coast. It further said that heavy spells of rainfall are continuing over coastal areas and are likely to go on for the next three hours.

3:44 PM, 13 Jun

In Gujarat, NDRF rescued a pregnant woman requiring pre-term delivery from Shiyalbet village, where boats are the only mode of transportation & brought her to a hospital in Jafarabad. The woman successfully delivered a baby boy, condition of both the child and mother is stable.

Gujarat: NDRF rescued a pregnant woman requiring pre-term delivery from Shiyalbet village, where boats are the only mode of transportation & brought her to a hospital in Jafarabad. The woman successfully delivered a baby boy, condition of both the child and mother is stable. pic.twitter.com/ZRY9dVad81
— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2019

3:43 PM, 13 Jun

Western Railway said,''Nine more trains cancelled and another four short terminated with partial cancellation as precautionary measure.''

3:42 PM, 13 Jun

According to a release by the India Meteorological Department, Ahmedabad, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm, Vayu is 160 km south-southwest of Diu, 110 km southwest of Veraval (Gujarat) and 140 km south of Porbandar (Gujarat).

2:45 PM, 13 Jun

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today assured all possible aid to the state government. "PM Modi held telephonic talk with Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani on cyclone preparedness immediately after reaching Bishkek and assured all assistance and support from the central government to mitigate the effects of Cyclone Vayu," the Chief Minister's Office tweeted.

2:40 PM, 13 Jun

BJP state president, Jitu Vaghani was at Somnath Temple earlier today to pray for the safety of people in the wake of Cyclone Vayu.

2:40 PM, 13 Jun

The impact of cyclone Vayu has been milder at most airports in Gujarat and there has been no damage to aerodromes' infrastructure so far, Airports Authority of India (AAI) said Thursday. To avoid disruptions and damages to infrastructure, the AAI has suspended flight operations at airports in Porbandar, Diu, Bhavnagar, Keshod and Kandla for 24 hours starting midnight Wednesday. Citing updates given by airport directors, the AAI said effect of the cyclone has been milder at most of the airports of Gujarat.

2:31 PM, 13 Jun

Cyclone Vayu is heading away in North-North West direction from Gujarat. It will peter out in the Arabian Sea. There is no grave danger to Gujarat from the cyclone as of now.

2:31 PM, 13 Jun

At present, Cyclone Vayu is moving towards Dwarka, 120 kilometers away from Porbandar coast. The wind speed in Porbandar and surrounding areas has increased suddenly. Water levels are rising, waves are getting stronger.

2:26 PM, 13 Jun

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the preparations of the Indian Coast Guard and Navy for tackling Cyclone Vayu, and is monitoring the situation.

12:09 PM, 13 Jun

He said,"Persons shifted to shelter homes will stay there and others should continue to stay in safe areas. Preparedness is to continue at the same level."

11:50 AM, 13 Jun

No casualties have been recorded due to Cyclone Vayu till now. The deaths (6 deaths in last 2 days) are not due the cyclone, rather they are due to monsoon, says Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue, Gujarat.

11:49 AM, 13 Jun

National Disaster Management Authority of India (NDMA) has tweeted saying, "Gale winds speed of the order of 135-145 kmph gusting to 160 kmph very likely to prevail over the north Arabian Sea and Gujarat coast. It is very likely to be 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph over north Maharashtra Coast and northern parts of east-central Arabian Sea."

11:13 AM, 13 Jun

The Weather Channel said that the impact of Cyclone Vayu would be 70 mm rain in southwest Gujarat over the next 48 hours. Flash flooding, storm surge, downed trees, power outages and damage to buildings may be expected.

11:12 AM, 13 Jun

Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secy, Revenue Department, Gujarat government said,''Government alertness for Cyclone Vayu continues with same intensity. Persons shifted to shelter homes to stay there. People should continue to stay in safe areas. Their preparedness to continue at same level.''

11:12 AM, 13 Jun

The Somnath temple in Gujarat is still open amid alert in the state for cyclone Vayu

10:16 AM, 13 Jun

After it skirts the Gujarat coast , Vayu is likely to encounter an anti-cyclone over North Arabian Sea which will result its stagnation near the Karachi Coast. There is also a likelihood of Vayu making no landfall and weakening in the sea itself, Skymetweather reported.

10:16 AM, 13 Jun

Heavy rain likely to occur at isolated places over all districts of coastal Karnataka

9:52 AM, 13 Jun

"We are still on alert," says DIG Randeep Rana, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

9:52 AM, 13 Jun

Cyclone Vayu is likely to weaken after skirting the Gujarat coast near Porbandar. The weakening would take place due to its proximity of the coast as it is likely to become a Category 1 storm. However, winds to the tune of 135 kmph to 145 kmph gusting up to 175 kmph may cause damage over the Gujarat coast.

9:29 AM, 13 Jun

Gujarat: Six teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are on alert in Porbandar. As per latest update of IMD, Cyclone Vayu won't hit Gujarat, but will have effect on coastal districts

9:28 AM, 13 Jun

Manorama Mohanty, scientist at India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ahmedabad said that Cyclone Vayu won't hit Gujarat now as it has changed course overnight. It will skirt through coast of Veraval, Porbandar and Dwarka. Its effect will be seen on the coastal regions as there will be heavy wind speed and heavy rain as well.

6:31 PM, 12 Jun

A total 47 NDRF teams have been deployed at various locations in Gujarat. Two BSF platoons have been deployed in Kutch district.

6:32 PM, 12 Jun

“More than 500 villages in coastal region have been evacuated, 2.15 lakh people have been shifted to shelters. From midnight police will be patrolling the vulnerable areas,” says Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Gujarat Revenue Department.

6:47 PM, 12 Jun

"Cyclone Vayu has turned into a very severe cyclonic storm. It would cause gusty winds to blow at a speed of 145 kmph to 170 kmph by Thursday morning," the IMD said.

6:47 PM, 12 Jun

Vayu, which intensified into a "severe cyclonic storm" will bring with it heavy rain and strong winds. Low-lying coastal areas of Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Porbandar, Junagarh, Diu, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts are likely to be flooded at the time of landfall, the Met office said. Schools and colleges in the coastal districts are closed today and tomorrow.

6:47 PM, 12 Jun

Mumbai and some neighbouring coastal areas of Maharashtra witnessed a windy Wednesday morning as cyclone 'Vayu' turned into a "very severe cyclonic storm", the weather department said.

6:48 PM, 12 Jun

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has appealed party workers to be prepared to help out in areas that get affected by cyclone "Vayu", which is nearing the Gujarat coast. Cyclonic storm "Vayu" has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, the IMD had said on Tuesday. "Cyclone Vayu is nearing the Gujarat coast. I appeal to all Congress workers to be prepared to help out in all the areas that come in the cyclone's way. I pray for the security and well-being of all the people in the areas that will be affected by the cyclone," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

6:49 PM, 12 Jun

The railways has cancelled 15 trains and it will short terminate 16 others due to Cyclone Vayu, Western Railways said.

7:35 PM, 12 Jun

"As Cyclone Vayu is expected to cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Diu, I pray for the safety of the people. MHA is in continuous touch with State Governments/UT and Central Agencies. NDRF has pre-positioned 52 teams," says Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

7:35 PM, 12 Jun

7:44 PM, 12 Jun

Cyclone Vayu

Amreli: NDRF team alerts citizens near Jafrabad Port as #CycloneVayu is expected to make landfall tomorrow. #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/sGebHyQYdt
— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2019

8:08 PM, 12 Jun

Three special evacuation trains are scheduled to run in Rajkot Division, Bhavnagar division and Veraval today to evacuate passengers of coastal areas affected by Vayu Cyclone, reports quoted Western Railways.

8:09 PM, 12 Jun

In addition to the earlier 15 trains, 25 more mainline trains have been cancelled, while in addition to the earlier 16 trains, 12 other mainline trains will be short terminated with partial cancellation as a precautionary measure in the Vayu Cyclone prone areas, said Western Railways, as per reports.

8:11 PM, 12 Jun

The Rajkot Railway division has issued opened helpline numbers for assistance in view of Cyclone Vayu. Jamnagar :0288- 2755169 Dwarka :02892-234044 Okha:02892-262026 Rajkot Control: 0281- 2410009 and 0281-2410187

8:13 PM, 12 Jun

The cyclone is now situated around 280 km south of and is very likely to move nearly northwards and cross Gujarat coast between Dwarka and Veraval as a "very severe cyclonic storm" with wind speeds of 155-165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph around afternoon of Thursday, a release by the Meteorological Centre said.

9:23 PM, 12 Jun

"In order to minimize damage to the airport infrastructure and avoid inconvenience to passengers, we've decided to suspend flight operations at airports in Porbandar, Diu, Bhavnagar, Keshod and Kandla from today midnight till tomorrow midnight," said Airports Authority of India (AAI).

9:35 PM, 12 Jun

The Airports Authority of India on Wednesday announced that flight operations will remain suspended at five airports in Gujarat for 24 hours from midnight Wednesday in order to minimise the damage to airport infrastructure and to avoid inconvenience to passengers due to Cyclone Vayu. As cyclone 'Vayu' advances towards the Gujarat coast, the state government launched a massive evacuation exercise to shift about three lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions, officials said. Flight operations will remain suspended in Porbandar, Diu, Bhavnagar, Keshod and Kandla airports, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said. "Equipment and heavy machinery have been moved to safety at respective airports and the Airport Directors of AAI's Bhuj and Jamnagar airports have been asked to write to the Indian Air Force to suspend operations of civil flights from these two airports also," the AAI said in a statement.

10:07 PM, 12 Jun

30 more mainline trains have been cancelled, as a precautionary measure in the cyclone prone areas, says Western Railways.

10:24 PM, 12 Jun

"In addition to this, various safety and security precautions are also being taken by the Western Railway for train passengers of these prone areas under the jurisdiction of WR -- Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham," the railways said. Some trains that have been cancelled are the Veraval-Amreli Passenger, Amreli-Junagadh, Delvada-Veraval on June 12 and 13

10:29 PM, 12 Jun

As the "very severe" cyclonic storm 'Vayu' is inching closer to Gujarat coast and expected to make a landfall Thursday, the Army, the Air Force, and the NDRF teams are deployed and put on standby for rescue and relief operations along the coastal districts. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has also deployed ships and aircraft to enable search and rescue post the landfall of the cyclonic storm.

10:31 PM, 12 Jun

Gujarat has evacuated about 3 lakh people and Diu has evacuated over 10,000 people from low lying areas to safer places. Indian Coast Guard, the Navy, Army and Air Force units have also been put on standby. Aircrafts and helicopters are carrying out aerial surveillance," tweets Home Minister Amit Shah.

11:57 PM, 12 Jun

Union Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan Wednesday said cyclone Vayu will hit the Gujarat coast on the afternoon of June 13 with a wind speed of 155-156 kilometres per hour. He said officials of the Ministry of Earth Sciences have been providing timely alerts regarding the impending cyclone. "I pray for the well-being of all families which may be impacted by #CycloneVayu, expected to hit tom with a wind speed of 155-156kmph on June 13 afternoon. @moesgoi officials are in regular touch providing timely alerts. "Below is a microwave image of VAYU cyclone @CMOGuj @moesgoi," Vardhan tweeted posting satellite images of the storm.

12:29 AM, 13 Jun

CM Vijay Rupani held a meeting:

Gujarat: CM Vijay Rupani held a meeting with senior officials of the state, officers from the Army & NDRF and District Magistrates, in Gandhinagar, today. #CycloneVayu is very likely to cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar&Mahuva as a very severe cyclonic storm tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/FJBeC4bgaT
— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2019

12:31 AM, 13 Jun

"More than 2.75 Lakh people evacuated. All sea-related activities have been stopped. All departments are on alert. Senior Ministers and Senior Secretaries have been sent to control rooms of dist admn, they are monitoring situation. Planning had been done in advance," says Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.

12:31 AM, 13 Jun

"47 troops of NDRF have reached Gujarat, 5-6 more teams will reach by morning. Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard have taken their positions. State Disaster Mgmt is at work. Police patrolling will be done throughout the night so that no one is left in the lower regions," says CM Rupani.

3:11 AM, 13 Jun

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Vayu is expected to hit Gujarat coast by wee hours of June 13. It would then give heavy to extremely heavy rains over the coastal districts of Gujarat such as Veraval, Porbandar, Junagarh, Dwarka, Amreli and Rajkot. Along with this, sea conditions too will be rough to very rough over the Gujarat coast. The wind speed will be around 140-150 kmph gusting to 170 kmph at the time of landfall near Porbandar, as per skymetweather.com.

3:34 AM, 13 Jun

According to Skymet Weather, Cyclone Vayu is moving at a fast pace of around 15 kmph. With this, clouding have already reached Saurashtra region of Gujarat.

3:40 AM, 13 Jun

Latest IMD bulletin on June 12 evening: The Very Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘VAYU’ (pronounced as VAA’YU) over Eastcentral Arabian Sea moved further north-northwestwards with a speed of about 13 kmph in last six hours and lay centred at 2030 hrs IST of 12th June, 2019 near latitude 19.5°N and longitude 69.8°E over Eastcentral & adjoining Northeast Arabian Sea, about 320 km nearly west of Mumbai (Maharashtra), 160 km southsouthwest of Veraval (Gujarat) and 240 km nearly south of Porbandar (Gujarat).It is very likely to move nearly northwards and cross Gujarat coast between Dwarka and Veraval as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm with wind speed 155-165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph around afternoon of 13th June 2019.

7:25 AM, 13 Jun

Vayu very likely to move nearly north-northwestwards along Saurashtra coast affecting Amreli, Gir Somnath, Diu,Junagarh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka&Kutch dist of Gujarat with wind speed 155-165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph likely from afternoon,13 June, reports ANI.

7:28 AM, 13 Jun

The sea condition is phenomenal over eastcentral and adjoining northeast Arabian Sea and Gujarat coast during next 12 hours and over north Arabian Sea and Gujarat coast during 13-15 June, the IMD also says.

#WATCH Gujarat: Visuals from Chowpatty beach in Porbandar as the sea turns violent. #CycloneVayu is very likely to cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva as a very severe cyclonic storm, today. pic.twitter.com/NnCornrMqe
— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2019

7:28 AM, 13 Jun

The sea condition is likely to be very rough to high along and off the Maharashtra Coast and northern parts of the east central Arabian Sea until June 13, the IMD says.