 "Cyclone Biparjoy")
Cyclone Biparjoy has weakened from "extremely severe" to "very severe" but it is still strong enough to cause widespread damage along the Gujarat coast, said the weather department on Tuesday.
Wind speed was expected to be 150-160 kmph at the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts on the afternoon of June 15, but the forecast slightly weakened it to 125-35 kmph.
“The cyclone is expected to move nearly northwards till June 14th morning, and then turn north-northeast wards and cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) around evening of 15th June as a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of India Meteorological Department, at a press conference in Delhi.
Wind speed in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh and Morbi on June 15 morning is expected to be around 125-135 kmph and gusting to 145 kmph later. Wind speed in remaining districts of Saurashtra Coast and North Gujarat could be around 45-55 gusting to 65 kmph.
Heavy to "very heavy" rainfall in excess of 20 centimetres is expected over a few places of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts in Gujarat.
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Mohapatra said the seas will remain rough or "very rough" till June 14 evening and "high to phenomenal high" later till June 15 afternoon.
Tidal waves of 2-3 metres in height are likely to inundate low lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch coasts during landfall leading to inundation of low lying areas.
The IMD warned that Cyclone Biparjoy might destroy thatched houses and cause extensive damage to kutcha houses. It might damage pucca houses, too.
There could be potential threat from flying objects, bending and uprooting of power and communication poles, flooding of escape routes, disruption of railways, overhead power lines and signaling systems due to the cyclone. There could be widespread damage to standing crops, plantations and orchards.
Visibility could get impacted due to spray from salt pans that dot the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts.
The IMD asked government authorities to suspend fishing and movement of ships in areas bracing for Cyclone Biparjoy. It also urged ports along the western coast of India to take precautions and instructed naval base operations to maintain necessary precautions.
IMD also advised restriction of tourism activities over places like Somnath Mandir and Gir Forest till June 15 and evacuation of people from the coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch (Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh and Morbi).
It also called for judicious use of rail and road traffic and urged people to stay indoors as much as possible.
No impact on monsoon
Mohapatra said that the monsoon won’t have an impact on the southwest monsoon. “The cyclone has got completely detached from the southwest monsoon currents, though initially it had helped in onset,” Mohapatra said.
He said Biparjoy is a recurving cyclone, one that takes several turns, and is expected to continue like that before landfall.
Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting to review the preparedness for cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ while similar meetings were also held of the National Crisis Management Committee by the cabinet secretary.
Modi directed officials to ensure safe evacuation of people living in vulnerable locations in the path of the cyclone.
As per a statement from his office, Modi directed senior officers to ensure maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health and drinking water, and restore them immediately in the event of any damage caused to them.
Gujarat had evacuated around 7,500 people till Monday noon and more will be done in the coming days.
Kandla port that handles around 22-24 vessels daily was shut since Monday morning in view of the cyclone while normal work on the Pipavav port was also stopped to minimize damage.
As per a Reuters report late in the night, Reliance Industries, which operates the world's largest refining complex, had suspended exports of diesel and other oil products from India's Sikka port because of the cyclone, traders said on Monday.
Reliance said in a letter sent to traders that it had declared a force majeure on exports from Sikka due to the storm, which weather forecasters say could hit India's western state of Gujarat and southern parts of Pakistan this week.
The 704,000 barrels per day (bpd) Jamnagar refinery is a major exporter of diesel, particularly to Europe which has sharply increased imports from Asia since the EU imposed a ban on Russian diesel in February.
Reliance did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
In neighboring Pakistan, which is also expected to bear the brunt of the cyclone, almost 80,000 people have been evacuated.
