Cyclone Vayu

Meanwhile, an 'orange' alert has been issued in Rajsamand Friday, while it will come to effect in Jaipur, Ajmer, Tonk and Nagaur on Saturday

Study says Bay of Bengal is usually warmer than Arabian Sea and so hosts more tropical storms; However, that scenario is now changing

According to Gujarat Chief Secretary J N Singh, the state government was prepared as it had consulted Odisha, which saw Cyclone Fani last month

As Cyclone Vayu advances towards the Gujarat coast and is expected to make landfall Thursday afternoon, the state government has shifted around three lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions, officials said Wednesday. According to the latest weather report, the cyclone has intensified into a "very severe cyclonic storm" and changed its course slightly. Now, it would hit the Gujarat coast anywhere between Veraval in the south and Dwarka in the west Thursday afternoon. The cyclone is now located around 200 km south, south-west of Veraval and "is very likely to move nearly northwards and hit the Gujarat coast with wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph around afternoon of June 13," a release issued by the MeT department said. "Gujarat has evacuated about 3 lakh people and Diu has evacuated over 10,000 people from low-lying areas to safer places. Indian Coast Guard, Navy, Army & Air Force units have also been put on standby. Aircraft and helicopters .

Private ports and jetties, like that of Adani Group and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), have either suspended or scaled down work.

Cyclone Vayu, after intensifying into a "very severe cyclonic storm" on Wednesday, continues to progress towards Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat