Ahemadabad: Gujarat government has begun evacuation of people from low lying coastal areas as India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Biparjoy’ will cross Saurashtra and Kutch near Jakhau Port on Thursday
The latest IMD alert read: “Biparjoy lay centered at 0230 IST of the 13th June, 2023, over Northeast and adjoining Eastcentral Arabian Sea about 290 km southwest of Porbandar & 360 km south-southwest of Jakhau Port.”
The cyclone will bring with it winds gusting up to 150 kilometres per hour. Gujarat will also witness heavy-to-very heavy rainfall at a few places. Extremely heavy rainfall is predicted in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar on Thursday.
While storm surge of about 2-3 metres above the astronomical tide is likely to inundate low-lying areas, sea conditions are likely to remain rough-to-very rough till the evening of Wednesday, and high to phenomenal thereafter till the noon of June 15.
With the landfall expected on Thursday, people residing in villages located within 10km from the coast in the Kutch-Saurashtra districts of Gujarat will be evacuated. Over 7,500 people residing in low-lying areas near the coast have already been shifted to safer places.
This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of the ministries, central agencies and the Gujarat government to deal with the situation.
The officials have been instructed to ensure maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health and drinking water, and that they are restored immediately in the event of damage. Modi also directed to ensure the safety of animals and the 24×7 functioning of control rooms, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
According to Gujarat Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey, evacuation will be carried out in two phases beginning Tuesday with people residing 0 to 5 km from the seashore to be shifted first. Thereafter, people living within a distance of 5 to 10 km from the coast will be moved. Priority will be given to children, pregnant women and the elderly, Pandey told reporters.
“Some 3,000 people, especially fishermen and labourers working at a port, were shifted in Kandla. Residents of some slums near the sea have also been moved in Mandvi. Around 23,000 people residing in villages within a radius of 10 km from the coast will be moved to (makeshift) shelter homes from Tuesday,” Kutch collector Amit Arora said.
