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Cyclone Vayu to hit Gujarat today; flights suspended, 300,000 evacuated

Cyclone Vayu is expected to hit the Gujarat coast anywhere between Veraval in the south and Dwarka in the west of Gujarat Thursday afternoon

Satellite imagery showing cloud band on the West Coast due to Cyclone Vayu. Image source: Skymet

As Cyclone Vayu advances towards the Gujarat coast and is expected to make landfall Thursday afternoon, the state government has shifted around three lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions, officials said Wednesday.

According to the latest weather report, the cyclone has intensified into a "very severe cyclonic storm" and changed its course slightly. Now, it would hit the Gujarat coast anywhere between Veraval in the south and Dwarka in the west Thursday afternoon.

The cyclone is now located around 200 km south, south-west of Veraval and "is very likely to move nearly northwards and hit the Gujarat coast with wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph around afternoon of June 13," a release issued by the MeT department said.

"Gujarat has evacuated about 300,000 people and Diu has evacuated over 10,000 people from low-lying areas to safer places. Indian Coast Guard, Navy, Army & Air Force units have also been put on standby. Aircraft and helicopters are carrying out aerial surveillance," Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted.

The Airports Authority of India announced that flight operations will remain suspended at five airports in Gujarat for 24 hours from midnight Wednesday to minimise the damage to airport infrastructure and to avoid inconvenience to passengers due to the cyclone.

10:33 PM

31 trains cancelled or cut short

As many as 15 trains were cancelled and 16 cut short due to Cyclone Vayu, Western Railways said. Some trains that have been cancelled are the Veraval-Amreli Passenger, Amreli-Junagadh, Delvada-Veraval on June 12 and 13.

9:09 PM

Western Railway trains cancelled

Western Railway will cut short or cancel some trains passing through places in Gujarat likely to be affected by cyclone 'Vayu'. All trains to Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham stations will be cut short or cancelled from 6 pm Wednesday till Friday morning.

9:01 PM

Gujarat airports suspend flights

Flights will be suspended at five Gujarat airports-- Porbandar, Diu, Bhavnagar, Keshod and Kandla--for 24 hours from midnight Wednesday due to Cyclone Vayu. "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," said the Airports Authority of India.

7:57 PM

Ports brace for Vayu

Ports have suspended work and activated their disaster management drills. The state-owned Deendayal Upadhyay Port at Kandla has sent most of its employees on leave. Adani Group and Reliance Industries have activated their disaster management drills.

7:22 PM

Army, Air Force ready for rescue work

Ten Army columns--each of a strength of about 70 people -- have been deployed in Jamnagar, Gir, Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Somnath, Morbi, Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Amreli. The Air Force has medium lift and light utility helicopters ready for operations.

7:20 PM

Armed forces deployed

The Indian Army, the Air Force, and the disaster response teams are on standby for rescue and relief operations along Gujarat's 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.

6:52 PM