NEW DELHI: Two people died and 22 were wounded as cyclone Biparjoy wreaked havoc in Gujarat, India Thursday, uprooting trees and damaging several houses and vehicles.
The cyclone is expectedly to weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm over Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat around noon, and then into a deep depression in the evening, the India Meteorological Department said in its update.
In the storm, heavy rainfall with strong winds brought down more than 524 trees and electric poles in various areas in Gujarat, snapping power supply to nearly 940 villages, NDTV reported.
A cattle rearer and his son were killed while trying to save their goats stuck in Bhavnagar district.
After churning across the stormy Arabian Sea for more than ten days, Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall near Jakhau Port, Gujarat on Thursday evening with the gushing wind speeds ranging between 125 kilometers per hour and 140 kilometers per hour, but started easing in the later hours.
Extremely heavy rainfall is expected in Rajasthan on 16 and 17 June, as the cyclone runs towards the northwest.
The weather had already issued warnings about severe damage to temporary housing facilities and the falling of trees and branches due to gushing winds, high waves, and heavy rainfall.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic chat with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and got the briefing after the cyclone made landfall. He also inquired about the details of the safety measures for wild animals, including lions, in Gir Forest.
Cyclone displaces 94,000 people
The Gujarat government said that about 94,000 people had relocated from low-lying and coastal areas to shelter. The storm has also affected the trains services. Nearly 99 trains running through, starting or terminating in Biparjoy-hit areas of Gujarat, would remain cancelled or short-terminated.
The National Disaster Response Force’s 18 teams, twelve of the State Disaster Response Force, 115 of the state road and building department, and 397 teams of the state electricity department are engaged in rescue operations in coastal districts.
Fishing activities have been suspended till Saturday, ports are closed and ships are anchored. Two famous temples Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district and Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhumi Dwarka remained closed to devotees on Thursday.
Commercial operations at Jamnagar airport in Gujarat have been suspended. Airport authorities said petrol and diesel required to operate the airport in an emergency have been stored.
