After making landfall in Gujarat's coastal areas, cyclone 'Biparjoy' has weakened into a "deep depression" and is expected to weaken further during the next 12 hours.
India Meteorlogical Department forecast in its latest tweet said that "Deep Depression (Remnant of Cyclonic Storm Biparjoy) at 05:30 hours IST of today, the 17th June, 2023 over Southwest Rajasthan adjoining Gujarat and Southeast Pakistan about 130 km northeast of Dholavira. To weaken into a Depression during next 06 hours.”
Meanwhile, as an impact of the cyclone Rajasthan's Udaipur witnessed heavy rains causing destruction. Strong winds caused major damages to cars and properties. Electric poles were also damaged in the winds.
#WATCH | Rajasthan: Udaipur witnesses Cyclone 'Biparjoy' impact; glass fell from the second floor, and a car was damaged#CycloneBiparjoy pic.twitter.com/7uoAHMLSnO
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) June 17, 2023
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Gujarat's Kutch and Jakhau Port to take stock of the situation in areas affected by cyclone ‘Biparjoy’. He will also hold meeting with CM and senior officers. HM will also conduct an aerial survey of affected areas.
He is also set to visit the shelter homes and meet people. He will then visit Mandvi and later will visit Swami Narayan temple in Bhuj.
#WATCH | Gujarat: Waterlogging witnessed in several areas of Mandvi following rainfall due to cyclone 'Biparjoy' pic.twitter.com/undXaNVFOO
— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2023
Leaving a trail of destruction, the Arabian Sea cyclone ripped through Kutch and parts of Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Heavy rains lashed through Kutch district since the cyclone made its landfall on Thursday.
Several trees were uprooted in Bhuj, Kutch due to cyclone's impact. Several areas witnessed waterlogging in Mandvi following the heavy rainfall. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team carried out the clearance work on Friday.
At least 23 people were injured due to the cyclone impact, however, no lives were lost after its landfall, said the Director General of the NDRF Atul Karwal.
In the aftermath of the destruction, about 1,000 villages were facing electricity issues. Over 800 trees were uprooted and around 500 houses were damaged. The cyclone has also impacted the APM Terminals Pipavav Port operations adversely.
Over 1,100 teams are working to restore electricity in Kutch, Devbhumi, Dwarka, Jamnagar, Morbi, Rajkot and Porbandar. The forest department has also removed 581 fallen trees from the roads.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that the big challenge ahead now was to restore life back on track. He also said that the NDRF and SDRF teams are working to improve the situation.
"We have been able to fight a big calamity without any casualty. NDRF, SDRF and other agencies worked tirelessly to mitigate any damage caused by the cyclone. This was possible under the guidance of PM Modi and Amit Shah....Now the big challenge is to restore and get life back on track, all the agencies will work on it now and we will soon achieve success in it too," he said.
