The Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Biparjoy is likely to make a landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat's Kutch district on Thursday afternoon. Authorities said over 74,000 people living near the coast have been shifted to safer places ahead of the storm.
Ahead of the landfall, parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region received heavy rains accompanied by strong winds on Wednesday, the Met department said.
The latest IMD alert read: "VSCS Biparjoy over Northeast Arabian Sea at 0230 hours IST of 15th June 2023 about 200 km west-southwest of Jakhau Port (Gujarat). To cross Saurashtra & Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau Port by the evening of 15th June as a VSVS."
The Met department has already issued an alert that isolated places in the districts of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar would witness heavy rainfall as Biparjoy approaches. On Wednesday, 65 talukas of districts in Saurashtra regions received rainfall in 12 hours till 6 pm. Heavy rain also lashed Devbhumi Dwarka district.
BSF, Navy on the standby
The Navy, NDRF and Border Security Forces (BSF) have been readied for rescue operations ahead of the storm.
The Indian Navy has already deployed ships with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) bricks on standby at short notice, Indian Navy said in a statement. "Helos at INS Hansa in Goa and INS Shikra in Mumbai are ready for embarkation/ ferry to Gujarat. P8i and Dornier aircraft ex-Hansa, Goa are on standby for aerial recce and transportation of relief material and personnel. Additional HADR stores and equipment are kept on standby for embarkation at short notice," said a statement by the Indian Navy.
BSF Gujarat Inspector General Ravi Gandhi told ANI that BSF forces are deployed at the international border. "As per the IMD assessment, the concerned area is from Mandvi to Karachi. Our forces are alert with full preparation. We are helping people who are approaching us with any concerns. We are also in contact with other security forces like NDRF," he added.
Meanwhile, 15 teams of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), 12 of SDRF (State Disaster Response Force), 115 teams of the state road and building department, and 397 of the state electricity department have been deployed in different coastal districts.
According to the Gujarat government, officials of departments of electricity and road and building have also reached designated spots to restore connectivity and power supply. "We have also deployed teams carrying HAM radio sets and satellite phones in the coastal region for better communication," said Commissioner of Relief, Alok Kumar Pandey.
Trains cancelled
The Western Railway (WR) has cancelled or short- terminate the operation of a few more trains ahead of the landfall on Thursday. According to the WR, seven more trains have been cancelled, three short-terminated and four other services short-originated. So far, 76 trains have been cancelled, 36 short-terminated and 31 short-originated.
Over 74,000 evacuated
Over 74,345 people have been moved to temporary shelters in eight coastal districts. The most number of people shifted is in Kutch with over 34,300 evacuated. Over 10,000 in Jamnagar, 9,243 in Morbi, 6,089 in Rajkot, 5,035 in Devbhumi Dwarka, 4,604 in Junagadh, 3,469 in Porbandar district and 1,605 in Gir Somnath district have also been shifted.
