At least three people were injured in incidents of treefall in Gujarat's Devbhoomi Dwarka district as cyclone Biparjoy made landfall with destructive wind speed and incessant rains on Kutch coast on Thursday evening, officials said.
Many trees and electricity poles were uprooted near Jakhau and Mandvi towns in Kutch district while tin sheets used in house construction were blown away.
Here are the latest updates:
- The cyclone has been put under Category 3 "very severe cyclonic storm", and is now likely to move northeastwards towards Rajasthan and weaken in time to come.
- Western Railway cancels 23 more trains in view of cyclone; 99 cancelled so far.
- Cyclone Biparjoy's wind speed reaches its maximum 125 kmph, will start slowing from now: weather office chief, reports NDTV
Until 7 pm there had been no report of death, said Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi.
"Three persons have sustained injuries in Devbhoomi Dwarka district due to treefall and are being treated. Teams of Gujarat police, NDRF and Army are working in different parts of Dwarka to remove uprooted trees and electricity poles," he added.
Narendra Singh Bundela, the Inspector General of NDRF, said the IMD predicted that Cyclone Biparjoy will turn into a depression by 12 pm tomorrow, June 16. He added that its speed will decrease to less than 40 km per hour.
"The landfall process of the cyclone started at 4.30 pm. The cyclone is still 70 km away and is moving towards the coast. The cyclone will cross the sea and be inland by midnight," said Dr M Mohapatra, the chief of Indian Meteorological Office, reports NDTV.
Dwarka, Okha, Naliya, Bhuj, Porbandar and Kandla along Gujarat coasts received heavy rainfall since Thursday morning. The coastal area witnessed strong winds of up to 50 kmph, the IMD said.
The state administration said till Thursday evening it had shifted over 94,000 persons living in eight coastal districts to temporary shelters.
Biparjoy has been classified as a Category 3 "very severe cyclonic storm" and is likely to power winds moving at 115-125 kmph, the weather office has said.
Ahead of the landfall, several districts of Gujarat have been witnessing heavy rainfall and strong winds. A total of 18 teams have been stationed in Gujarat, which is predicted to take the maximum brunt of the cyclonic storm and resulting strong winds and heavy rains.
The weather office has issued red and orange alert for several states. The Ministry of Defence said that all armed forces including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Indian Coast Guard have made necessary preparation to provide assistance to the local people of Gujarat.
