Cyclone Biparjoy landfall in few hours, nearly 1 lakh evacuated

Ahead of cyclone Biparjoy's landfall in Gujarat of Thursday evening, the state administration has evacuated nearly one lakh people and shifted them to shelters. In its latest bulletin, India Meteorological Department (IMD), said that cyclone Biparjoy is about 120 km from the Gujarat coast.

"Landfall process will commence near Jakhau Port from today evening and continue till midnight," the IMD said in a tweet. The weather office has also issued a red alert for Saurashtra and Kutch coasts.

Cyclone Biparjoy landfall: Top updates

1. Ahead of the landfall, the Ministry of Defence said that all armed forces including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Indian Coast Guard have made necessary preparation to provide assistance to the local people of Gujarat.

2. Indian Army has deployed more than 27 relief columns across Gujarat at Bhuj, Jamnagar, Gandhidam as well as at the forward locations of Mandvi and Dwarka, Ministry of Defence spokesperson in Gujarat, Wing Commander N Manish told news agency ANI.

3. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, on Thursday, held a review meeting at the State Emergency Operation Center in state capital Gandhinagar regarding the cyclone.

4. Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) has deployed six HAM radio teams, two of them in Kutch, and mobile units for seamless communication after Biparjoy hits the shore near Jakhau port. HAM radio is considered a reliable mode of messaging during emergencies when wirelines, mobile phones and other traditional terrestrial means of communication fail.

5. The weather agency has predicted moderate rain accompanied with light thunderstorms for several districts of Gujarat during the next couple of hours. "Moderate rain ( 5-15 mm/hour) accompanied with Light Thunderstorms with a maximum surface wind speed of less than 40 kmph (In gusts) very likely in the district of Gujarat state namely Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Morbi, Rajkot, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Gir Somnath and Kutch during next 3 hours," the IMD said.  

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