'Nisarga' set to become a severe cyclonic storm; PM Modi assures support

The storm will cross North Maharashtra and adjoining South Gujarat coast between Harihareshwar and Daman, on June 3 afternoon

Cyclone ‘Nisarga’ is very likely to intensify into a “severe cyclonic storm” and cross Maharashtra and south Gujarat coast on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.
 
The cyclone, the first to hit Mumbai in over a hundred years, will cross north Maharashtra and adjoining south Gujarat coast between Harihareshwar and Daman, with wind speeds as high as 120 kilometers per hour.
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Gujarat and assured them of all help from the Centre.

 
The NDRF has deployed 40 teams in Maharashtra, Gujarat and UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
 
Additional teams are also being airlifted. Rescue and relief teams of the Indian Army and the Indian Navy along with ships and aircrafts of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force have been put on standby.
 
Thackeray asks people to be alert
 
Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said it was likely to be more severe than cyclonic storms in the past, and asked people to stay alert.

 
Later in the day, Mumbai and its metropolitan areas received rainfall, which intensified later in the night.
 
The IMD has predicted moderate rainfall in most parts of the metropolis and heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places over the next 24 hours.
 
Thackeray also elaborated on 'do's and don'ts' in the situation.
 
"The cyclone could be more severe than the other storms....Tomorrow and the day after are crucial in coastal areas," he said.
 
"Activities which had resumed (as part of easing of lockdown to contain coronavirus) will be kept shut there for the next two days in view of the cyclone....it is in our interest that people remain alert and inside their homes," the chief minister said.