Cyclone Biparjoy to make landfall in Gujarat today: 10 things you must know

According to the India Meteorological Department, Biparjoy is expected to make landfall near Jakhau port as a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kmph

"Very severe" Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall in Gujarat between 4 and 8 pm today. Ahead of the cyclone, 74,000 people have been shifted to shelters from Gujarat's coastal region. Red and orange alerts have been issued in several districts of the state.

Cyclone Biparjoy: 10 things you should know

1. As of Thursday evening, Cyclone Biparjoy is less than 200 kilometres from the Gujarat coast. Its landfall is expected to be accompanied by heavy rain and storm surges.
2. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Biparjoy is expected to make landfall near Jakhau port as a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour.
3. The IMD said that the intensity of rainfall would increase as the powerful weather system approaches the coast, with isolated places in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts likely to witness extremely heavy rainfall.
4. So far, 74,345 people have been moved to temporary shelters in eight coastal districts of Kutch, Jamnagar, Morbi, Rajkot, Devbhumi Dwarka, Junagadh, Porbandar and Gir Somnath.
5. Gujarat health minister Rushikesh Patel said 72 villages are located between zero and 5 km from the coast in the Kutch district, while another 48 sit between 5 km and 10 km from the shore.
6. As per the Centre, 15 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 12 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), 115 teams of the state road and building department, and 397 teams of the state electricity department have been deployed in different coastal districts.
7. Apart from local administration and police, four teams of NDRF and five teams of SDRF, Army, Coast Guard and Border Security Force (BSF) are on standby for rescue and relief post-cyclone.
8. The Union ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said that around 3,000 people living in Port areas had been evacuated, and the evacuation of cargo vessels had also been completed.
9. The Union Power Ministry also sought the assistance of the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) to extend all possible support in terms of the restoration of state transmission lines and distribution networks.
10. Sixty-nine trains stand cancelled in the Western Railway zone, with 33 trains being short-terminated. Transport infrastructure is expected to be severely hit by the arrival of the cyclone.

(With agency inputs)