Cyclone Biparjoy: A powerful cyclone Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday evening. The landfall process will be completed by midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. It is a “very severe cyclonic storm” with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour. Army, Navy and IAF teams are on standby for relief operations. Several trees and electricity poles were uprooted.
Here are the top 10 points on Cyclone Biparjoy:
- Biparjoy has been classified as a Category 3 "very severe cyclonic storm". 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 mph, the IMD said. According to the MET department, the wind speed can go up to 140 km per hour
- There was no report of any loss of life so far in the state, though three persons were injured in Devbhoomi Dwarka district after a tree fell on them. Many trees and electricity poles were uprooted near Jakhau and Mandvi towns in the Kutch district while tin sheets used in house construction were blown away.
- Officials said 15 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and personnel of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Coast Guard and Border Security Force have been deployed for relief and rescue operations.
- Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has chaired a meeting in Gandhinagar to review preparations for the cyclone. Nearly one lakh people have been evacuated and moved to shelters ahead of the cyclone's landfall. The administration has shifted people from nearly 120 villages located between zero and 10 km from the seashore in the Kutch district.
- Fishing activities have been suspended till tomorrow, ports are shut and ships are anchored. Commercial operations at Gujarat's Jamnagar airport have been suspended till Friday. Airport authorities said diesel and petrol required to operate the airport in an emergency have been stored.
- Narendra Singh Bundela, the Inspector General of NDRF said that there are chances that heavy rains from the impact of Cyclone Biparjoy will cause floods. He added that the cyclone will primarily impact Gujarat's Kachchh area and the southern region in Rajasthan.
- 23 trains have been cancelled, 3 trains short-terminated and 7 trains short-originated. With this, 99 trains have been cancelled, 39 trains have been short-terminated, while 38 trains short-originated as a precautionary measure, in view of the safety of passengers and train operations with respect to onset of Cyclone Biparjoy.
- The IMD has predicted that Cyclone Biparjoy will turn into a depression by 12 pm tomorrow (June 16), and its speed will decrease to less than 40 km/hour. There is a possibility of minimal damage, said NDRF IG Narendra Singh Bundela.
- Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the state was geared up to face cyclone Biparjoy and the heavy rainfall that will come with it. According to the Met department, heavy rainfall is likely to occur in Jodhpur and Udaipur divisions on Friday and Saturday due to the cyclone. Strong winds with a speed of 60 to 70 km per hour are expected in Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jalore, and Jodhpur on Friday and in Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Ajmer on Saturday.
- Biparjoy, the first cyclone in the Arabian Sea this year, rapidly underwent rapid intensification on June 6 and June 7, escalating from just a cyclonic circulation to a very severe cyclonic storm in just 48 hours, defying earlier predictions. The IMD data shows Biparjoy has become the cyclone with the longest lifespan in the Arabian Sea.
