MANDVI (KUTCH): Often hailed for its people's resilience and scripting a staggering industrial saga after rising from the 2001 killer earthquake, Kutch is once again in the grip of nature's wrath as Cyclone Biparjoy muscles into the desert district today with a ferocity that can cause widespread damage.Biparjoy is expected to crash ashore near fishing port Jakhau between 4pm and 8pm, packing winds of 125-135 kmph and gusting to 150 kmph along the districts of not just Kutch, but Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagadh and Morbi too.Surviving the storm: How you stay safe as Cyclone Biparjoy approachesCyclone Biparjoy Live CoverageThe cyclone is expected to completely flatten thatched houses, uproot electricity and communication poles, inflict severe damage to roads, flood escape routes, disrupt railways, overhead power lines, and signalling systems, hit visibility severely due to salt spray, damage small boats and country crafts and cause massive damage to standing crops, orchards, and plantations.
The districts which will face these consequences include Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Morbi, Junagarh, and Rajkot, the India Meteorological Department bulletin stated.Various government agencies are working overtime to ensure zero casualty and over 74,000 people were evacuated to shelter homes as on Wednesday evening.
Of these, some 35,000 were in shelters of Kutch alone, brooding over losses that the storm would inflict on their livelihoods, mainly fishing.Sultan Miya, an evacuee taking shelter in a facility at Naliya, said, All of us are extremely scared of losing our hard-earned property like home and our boats.State commissioner of relief Alok Kumar Pandey said 5,000 more were shifted by late evening.On Wednesday, the entire Saurashtra region, sprawling about 66,000 sq km area across 11 districts and Kutch, bore a haunted look as big vehicles were completely off the roads and people forced by gale, lightning, and rain, stayed indoors.
In all, 32 talukas in 12 districts reeled under a wet spell, albeit light to moderate.India Meteorological Department (IMD) director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, The cyclone had become very slow, practically stationary on Wednesday morning.
This is an indication that the direction of the movement of the cyclone will change now.
We are expecting that it will move towards the northeast and it hit Saurashtra, Kutch, and adjoining Pakistan between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau port.Mohapatra said the Biparjoys intensity had slightly weakened but it will still have landfall as a very severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds ranging from 125-135 kmph, gusting to 145 kmph from morning to evening on Thursday.The coming five days beginning Thursday are expected to be highly testing for people and the authorities with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting extremely heavy rainfall and gusting winds.The otherwise busy road from Rajkot to Kutch via Morbi was completely deserted on Wednesday and so was the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway.
In many places, drivers had their hearts in their mouths moments as savage winds threatened to stir away their vehicles from the roads.WatchCyclone Biparjoy makes impact: Rough sea conditions and strong winds hit Dwarka