LIVE: Cyclone Nisarga may cause rainfall in MP, Chhattisgarh in next 24 hrs

Cyclone Nisarga: Flights and trains to and from Mumbai have resumed. Section 144 has been imposed in the city. Catch latest weather updates and news related to Cyclone Nisarga landfall

2:29 PM

Mumbai on edge as first cyclone in 129 years nears its coast; trains rescheduled, thousands evacuated

Mumbai and neighbouring areas braced for Cyclone Nisarga barrelling Wednesday toward the coast with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph after tens of thousands of people in its path were evacuated, trains rescheduled, flights cancelled, fishermen ordered out of the seas and rescue workers put on standby. Hanging over the Arabian Sea, 190 kilometres from Mumbai, Nisarga is moving at a speed of 11 kilometres per hour and is likely to make landfall at the coastal town Alibaug between 1 pm and 4 pm, officials said. Already down on its knees from the raging COVID-19 pandemic, Mumabi will be hit by a cyclone after a gap of 129 years, weather experts said.

 

"It is likely to cross with an intensity of a severe cyclonic storm close to south of Alibaug," India Meteorological Department (IMD) Mumbai's deputy director general of meteorology K S Hosalikar said.

 

"At that time, its speed is likely to be 100 kmph to 110 kmph, he added.

2:15 PM

Cyclone Nisarga wind speed currently 100-110 kmph, will gradually enter Mumbai and Thane districts of Maharashtra in next 3 hours: IMD

2:13 PM

Cyclone Nisarga LIVE: Animals at Mumbai Zoo shifted to holding centres

In the wake of Cyclone Nisarga, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday shifted the inmates of the Byculla Zoo including tiger, leopard, hyena, various reptiles and others, into their holding areas at the zoo. The civic body is of the view that these holding areas in the Veer Mata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo, commonly known as the Byculla Zoo are safer to avoid any damage to the animals and reptiles from the tree falls.

 

"We have made the arrangements for as many as 300 animals including reptiles. We will keep them in holding centres till the situation gets normal in the city," said a senior official at the Zoo.

 

The BMC further informed that they have also deployed a 20 member emergency response team which includes animal keeper, security staff in these holding areas to take care of the species.

2:00 PM

Cyclone Nisarga LIVE: More than 50,000 evacuated in Gujarat

The Gujarat government on Wednesday said that over 50,000 people living in low-lying vulnerable areas in south Gujarat were shifted to safer places as a precautionary measure against cyclone Nisarga.

 

Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) told the media: "We have shifted more than 50,000 people living in coastal areas of south Gujarat. Special measures are being taken in Valsad and Navsari districts as the cyclone is expected to make an impact there. The administration is taking all precautions regarding Covid-19 at shelter houses."

 

"We have also ensured that no power cuts occur at Covid-19 hospitals in these areas during the severe cyclone. All fishermen in these areas have been asked to return from the sea. People associated with prawn cultivation and salt pans have been shifted to safer places."

1:55 PM

Cyclone Nisarga LIVE: Strong winds and high tides hit Maharashtra's Ratnagiri area

1:54 PM

LIVE: Cyclone Nisarga moving along predicted path, says NDRF Director General

Cyclone Nisarga is moving along the predicted path and is expected to make landfall between 2 pm and 4:30 pm on Wednesday around Alibaug in Maharashtra, NDRF chief S N Pradhan said. The Director General (DG) of the federal contingency force said a total of 43 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are deployed in the two states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

 

"The cyclone is expected to make landfall between 2 pm and 4:30 pm somewhere a little south of Alibaug in Raigad district," he said.

 

"It is moving along the predicted path as stated by the IMD and in southern parts of Maharashtra the signs of cyclone building up are evident," Pradhan said in a video message update on the cyclone. In Ratnagiri, winds and rains have picked up, the DG said.

1:49 PM

Cyclone Nisarga LIVE: 43 NDRF teams are deployed in Maharashtra and Gujarat

1:43 PM

1:38 PM

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai will operate only 12 flights today in view of the cyclone

1:37 PM

Mumbai: BMC evacuates over 1,000 residents; more than 30,000 move to safe locations

Over 10,000 residents have been evacuated by the BMC in Mumbai so far, and more than 30,000 have gone to safe locations on their own. Cyclone Nisarga lies about 95 km from Mumbai. The city, which has been battling the Covid-19 outbreak, is not bracing itself for heavy rains and gusts of wind as the storm nears.

1:37 PM

About 43 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are deployed in the two states; of which 21 are in Maharashtra and 16 are in Gujarat. Nearly 1 lakh people have been evacuated from the cyclone spot: SN Pradhan, NDRF DG

1:34 PM

Cyclone Nisarga moving along predicted path: NDRF DG

Cyclone Nisarga is moving along the predicted path and is expected to make landfall between 2pm and 4.30pm on Wednesday around Alibaug in Maharashtra, NDRF chief S N Pradhan said. The Director General (DG) of the federal contingency force said a total of 43 teams are deployed in the two states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

1:29 PM

Severe Cyclonic Storm "NISARGA" Visible Imagery from INSAT-3D

1:26 PM

Cyclone update: 20 NDRF teams deployed in coastal Maharashtra

At least 20 teams have been deployed in coastal areas of Maharashtra as Cyclone Nisarga approaches -- 15 from Battalion in Pune and five airlifted from Visakhapatnam. Each team comprises 30 to 35 rescuers, with specially trained mechanical, electrical, paramedic personnel.

 

Mumbai: 8 teams

Alibag: 5 teams

Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri: 2 teams each

Sindhudurg: 1 team

1:24 PM

We cannot tell about the exact number of evacuations but around 3,000 people have been evacuated in Daman and few operations are still going on: AK Pathak, deputy commandant, NDRF