“It is expected to move northeastwards and weaken into a Cyclonic Storm by early morning on June 16, and into a depression by the same evening over south Rajasthan,” it said. IMD Director Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that the cyclone has now moved from sea to land and is centred towards Sauarashtra-Kutch. “Cyclone Biporjoy moved northeastwards and crossed the Saurashtra-Kutch adjoining Pakistan coast close to the Jakhau port, Gujarat. The cyclone has now moved from sea to land and is centred towards Saurashtra-Kutch,” Mohapatra told ANI

“The intensity of the cyclone has reduced to 105-115 kmph. The category has changed from very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) to severe cyclonic storm (SCS). There may be heavy rains in Rajasthan on June 16 (Friday),” he added.

The intensity of Cyclone Biparjoy has reduced from the ‘very severe’ to ‘severe’ category on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday after the storm made landfall in coastal areas of Gujarat.
IMD had earlier said that Cyclone Biparjoy is moving ahead of Saurashtra Kutch as a very severe cyclone.

“Very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) close to Saurashtra and Kutch Coasts. The landfall process is continuing and by midnight it will be completely over the land. Part of the eye is over the land,” IMD had said on Thursday evening.

Heavy Rainfall Likely In Rajasthan

Extremely heavy rainfall is likely in Rajasthan on June 16 and 17, as the cyclone moves towards northwest, Dr M Mohapatra, the chief of the Indian Meteorological Office, said.

Storm Makes Landfall On Gujarat Coast

Cyclone Biparjoy, which had been brewing over the Arabian Sea for several days, has made landfall on Gujarat’s coastal area and has also affected the train services. Due to this, around 99 trains running through, originating or terminating in Biparjoy-affected areas of Gujarat, will remain cancelled or short-terminated, Western Railway said. Officials said that several relief and rescue teams are on alert as tens of thousands of people were evacuated to safe locations in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel chaired a review meeting at the State Emergency Operation Center in Gandhinagar on Thursday.

Over 22 People Injured; Poles And Trees Uprooted

At least 22 people were injured, while electric poles and trees were uprooted as the ‘very severe’ cyclonic storm Biparjoy made landfall in Gujarat on Thursday. The cyclone is likely to weaken into a depression today evening over Rajasthan. Twenty-three animals have been killed as heavy rain coupled with gusty winds brought down over 524 trees and electric poles at various places in Gujarat, snapping the supply of power to around 940 villages, they said.

Eighteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), 115 teams of the state road and building department, and 397 of the state electricity department are on the ground in coastal districts.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and took stock of the situation after the cyclonic storm made landfall. PM Modi also asked about the details of the safety arrangements for wild animals including lions in Gir Forest. 

The IMD issued a Red alert for the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts, saying that VSCS (Very Severe Cyclonic Storm) ‘Biparjoy’ will cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts, between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau Port, by Thursday evening.

Ports Shut, Ships Anchored

Warnings about extensive damage to temporary housing structures and falling of trees and branches due to high-speed winds, high tides and heavy rainfall have already been issued by India Meteorological Department. 

Fishing activities have been suspended till Friday, ports are shut and ships are anchored. Two famous temples — Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhumi Dwarka and Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district — remained closed to devotees on Thursday. 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.

Source: Bureau

The post Cyclone Biparjoy: After Causing Heavy Destruction In Gujarat, Storm Heads To Rajasthan; Heavy Rains Likely appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

Cyclone Biparjoy To Make Landfall At Jakhau Port In Evening 

Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall near the Jakhau coast, Gujarat between 5-6 PM this evening and will traverse all along the Rann of Kutch up to Rajasthan. As per India Meteorological Department (IMD), VSCS (very severe cyclonic storm) Biparjoy is to cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau Port by today evening.

“VSCS Biparjoy over Northeast Arabian Sea at 0230 hours IST of 15th June 2023 about 200 km west-southwest of Jakhau Port (Gujarat). To cross Saurashtra & Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau Port by the evening of 15th June as a VSVS,” tweeted IMD.

Thousands Of People Evacuated

As Cyclone Biparjoy is less than 200 kilometres from the Gujarat coast and likely to make landfall in the evening, along with the anticipated heavy rain and storm surge, the state administration has evacuated more than 74,000 people living in vulnerable areas. The administration has shifted people from nearly 120 villages located between zero and 10 km from the seashore in the Kutch district.

Gujarat health minister Rushikesh Patel said 72 villages are located between zero and 5 km from the coast in the Kutch district, while 48 others sit between 5 km and 10 km from the shore. “We have evacuated around 40,000 people from these coastal villages,” the minister said.

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, the government said.

NDRF, SDRF, Rescue Teams On Standby

As per the government, 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. Apart from local administration and police, four teams of NDRF and five teams of SDRF, Army, Coast Guard and BSF are on standby for rescue and relief post-cyclone, he said.

“Elaborate arrangements have been made by us for post-cyclone work like restoration of electricity infrastructure, mobile networks and other infrastructure,” he said.

High Tide Expected Due To Cyclone: IMD

A storm surge of about 2-3 metres above the astronomical tide is likely to inundate low-lying areas of the districts that are likely to be affected due to the landfall. The tides could rise up to 3-6 metres in some places, the IMD has said. This will be the second cyclone to hit the state in two years after ‘Tauktae’ in May 2021.

Trains Cancelled, Short-Terminated

The Western Railway has said that 76 trains have been cancelled, 36 short-terminated and 31 short-originated as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of passengers and train operations.

BSF On Alert

Meanwhile, Border Security Force (BSF) has made adequate preparations to combat any challenges arising out of the impending storm. The Inspector General of BSF Gujarat, Ravi Gandhi visited the coastal areas of Bhuj and took stock of the preparedness to deal with any situation.

Speaking to ANI, BSF IG Ravi Gandhi said, “BSF forces are deployed at the international border. As per the IMD assessment, the concerned area is from Mandvi to Karachi. Our forces are alert with full preparation. We are helping people who are approaching us with any concerns. We are also in contact with other security forces like NDRF”.

The cyclone is predicted to pass through all along the Indo-Pak international border. Besides guarding the international border, BSF has swiftly mobilised requisite resources for rescue operations. 

Source: ANI

The post Cyclone Biparjoy: Gujarat’s Famous Dwarkadhish, Somnath Temples Closed For Devotees, Thousands Evacuated appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.

“We have deployed sufficient manpower and machinery. Our teams have also been alerted. We have sufficient locomotives ready in case of any power failure, and we are also ready with preparation to evacuate people if a train gets stuck anywhere,” he added.

Earlier, Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey informed about both central and state governments being on the alert mode in view of the cyclone.

“State government and Central government are on alert view of Cyclone Biparjoy. We have 12 NDRF teams and they have been deployed in Kutch, PorbanderJunagadh, Jamnagar, Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Morbi and Rajkot districts. Three teams were requested from the Centre and they have arrived they will be kept in reserve in Rajkot, Gandhidham and Kutch,” the Relief Commissioner told ANI.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi also chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of ministries/agencies of the Centre as well as Gujarat to deal with the situation.

According to the official statement, Prime Minister directed senior officers to take every possible measure to ensure that the State Government safely evacuates people living in vulnerable locations and to ensure maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health, drinking water etc and are restored immediately in the event of damage caused to them.

During the meeting, India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed that Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to cross Saurashtra and Kutch between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by noon of June 15 as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 145 kmph.

Later in the day, India Meteorological Department said that impending Cyclone Biparjoy will cross near Gujarat’s Jakhau Port on June 15 as a ‘Very Severe Cyclonic Storm’.

“ESCS (extremely severe cyclonic storm) #Biparjoy weakened into VSCS (very severe cyclonic storm) and lay at 23.30 IST, about 310km SW of Porbandar, 320km SW of Devbhumi Dwarka, 380km SSW of Jakhau Port. To cross near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by the evening of 15th June as VSCS,” IMD said in a tweet.

Union Home Ministry also released an advisory and advised total suspension of fishing operations over the east-central and adjoining west-central Arabian Sea and northeast Arabian Sea till June 15 in the wake of extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Biparjoy’.

In an advisory on Monday, the ministry asked Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra governments to keep a close watch on the situation in the wake of the severe cyclonic storm and take appropriate precautionary measures. It called for judicious regulation of offshore and onshore activities.

The advisory, which has also been sent to the Chief Secretaries of Lakshadweep and Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, said that district authorities should be asked to monitor the situation in their areas.

Notably, a total of 67 trains have been cancelled in view of cyclone Biparjoy which is set to make landfall on Thursday in Gujarat, said CPRO Western Railway on Monday.

Source: ANI

The post Cyclone Biparjoy: Indian Railways Erects Emergency Control Rooms In Gujarat, Multiple Trains Cancelled appeared first on Rma News: Latest News, Live Breaking News, Today News, Political News Updates.