Two days before the powerful cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall near Jakhau port in Gujarat’s Kutch district, authorities shifted 30,000 people from coastal areas to temporary shelters.
An authority said that some teams of NDRF and SDRF are on backup. The civil administration and the National Disaster Response Force have jointly planned relief operations with Army officials.
Flood relief columns have been prepared by the army at strategic locations.
Amit Shah did a virtual meet
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the Gujarat government to ensure that all essential services, including electricity, telecom, health care and drinking water, would be provided during a virtual meeting to assess the status of cyclone preparedness.
The meeting was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, two Union ministers, several Gujarat ministers and MPs, MLAs and representatives of eight districts.
State relief commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said, “We have started evacuating people living near the coast, which are most likely to be affected during landslides. So far, various district administrations have shifted around 30,000 people to temporary shelters.” transferred to.”
The state government intends to evacuate people within 10 km of the coast, he said, adding that so far one death related to the cyclone has been recorded.
Biparjoy is likely to cross Saurashtra and Kutch near Jakhau port between Mandvi and Karachi
According to Ahmedabad IMD director, Manorama Mohanty, the cyclone is likely to cross between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan near Jakhau port on June 15 with winds of 125-135 kmph and 150 kmph.
“Warning of extremely heavy rain accompanied by strong winds has been issued for coastal parts of Saurashtra-Kutch region, especially in Kutch, Porbandar and Devbhoomi Dwarka districts,” he said.
“After its landfall and further weakening, the movement of the cyclone is very likely to be towards north-northeast and it is expected to move towards extreme south Rajasthan.
It will bring heavy to very heavy rains over North Gujarat from June 15-17,” Mohanty said.
As the sea became extremely rough and the oncoming cyclone caused extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds in the region, fishing was suspended until 16 June, when vessels were grounded and ports were closed .
“The sea will remain very rough to high till June 14, increasing to an unprecedented level on June 15,” Mohanty said.
According to Pandey, the government is continuously working to prevent deaths due to weather.
He said the rescue operation is being carried out in two phases, with the first phase involving people who live between 0 to 5 km from the sea shore.
After that, people between 5 and 10 km from the coast will be shifted to safer areas, with priority given to children, pregnant women and the elderly.
NDRF, SDRF teams are on standby
The government said that 12 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams and 17 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are on standby in the affected districts of Devbhoomi Dwarka, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Morbi and Valsad.
Western Railway cancels 69 trains, reschedules 32
To ensure passenger safety and train operations, Western Railway has so far canceled 69 trains, short-terminated 32 trains and short-originated 26 trains.
In an overnight operation involving ALH aircraft and ship “Shoor”, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 50 people from an oil rig 40 km off the coast of Dwarka, the maritime agency said on Tuesday.
The Army similarly practiced flood relief sections and kept them ready in critical areas.
A defense release said, “Army officials have jointly planned relief operations with the civil administration as well as NDRF. The interaction provided an opportunity to all agencies involved in disaster management to share their best practices and create a given a platform to profit from the other.”
It added that resources have also been brought in from neighboring Rajasthan to ensure that the high winds and heavy rains do not cause too many casualties or are kept to a minimum.
Gujarat’s Kandla port closed
The shipping exercise at the country’s largest public sector port at Kandla was suspended following the storm warning and around 3,000 people, including labourers, were moved to safer places, officials said.
CM Patel has urged citizens to cooperate with the administration for their safety as the state has stepped up relief and rescue efforts.
He said in a virtual message that the government has planned rescue, relief and rehabilitation with a zero-tolerance strategy and urged citizens to follow the instructions of the administration.
Mansukh Mandaviya arrives at Bhuj army base, rechecks the security
At Bhuj in Kurch, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya looked over the preparations.
Besides him, four Union ministers are stationed in the cyclone-hit districts to work with the state administration on relief and rescue efforts.
Gujarat villagers reluctant to leave amid evacuation
Authorities are facing a challenge as hundreds of people are being evacuated from coastal villages in Kutch district as many villagers are reluctant to leave their livestock and belongings behind.
In Ashirwada town, located 5 km from the coast in Kutch, people agreed to move out only after holding a meeting to convince the police and revenue officials.
“We are shifting people to shelters who can face the impact of the cyclone,” an official told PTI. We are taking care of them by providing them food and other basic things.
People are being evacuated from buses and private vehicles.
From different villages, at least 78 people have been shifted to the Jakhau Primary School, which is now a shelter.
Along with this, Mohadi village situated on the banks of the coast has been evacuated. They find shelter in a cement factory.
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