Cyclone Biparjoy, the meaning of which is ‘disaster’ in the Bengali language, developed in the east-central Arabian Sea. The cyclone that was heading towards Gujarat, would hit the Indian port of Jakhau late evening today. This cyclone is expected to make landfall in India and Pakistan on 15th, June 2023.
As the cyclone is heading forward toward the coast, the storm in Gujarat and Mumbai has intensified. It is expected that the cyclone will be done with by tonight, and the effects of the same will be subsided significantly by June 16, 2023.
It was forecasted that powerful winds, lashing rains, and storm surges were forecasted to have an impact on a 325-kilometer coast stretch covering areas from Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan. As per the reports by Indian Meteorological Department, this powerful storm was at a distance of 170 km from Jakhau port and at a distance of 202 km towards the west of Devbhumi Dwarka as last recorded at 12 30 PM.
The onset of landfall will start in the evening and is expected to continue till midnight with heavy to extremely heavy rainfall and chances of inundation along the coast. The people residing in these areas are asked to be kept on high alert and must not venture out during the timings of cyclones.
The Indian Coast Guard of the region likely to be affected has said that they are expecting the cyclone to make landfall between 6 to 8 pm.
Foreseeing the situation, the coast guards have kept around 15 ships and 7 aircraft on standby along with 3 helicopters and 4 special Dornier in Daman at the coast guard station. As a precautionary measure, the commercial flight operations at the airport station of Jamnagar in Gujarat have also been kept on halt until Friday.
The airport management also issued a notice to Airmen for the duration of three days, i.e. From Wednesday to Friday. Also, they have made the required arrangements by storing an adequate amount of petrol or diesel for performing necessary operations. However, there will be no aircraft in the parking area at the airport.
With the forthcoming landfall due to cyclone Biparjoy on the coast of Gujarat, proactive measures are being taken in order to ensure continuous communication. The Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority has deployed radio teams with mobile units in order to facilitate a consistent exchange of information about the cyclone’s situation near the port. The government of Gujarat has also relocated around 75,000 people from the coastal and low-lying areas to shelters.
The Border Security Force has also been deployed along the coastline to escalate efforts of providing assistance to villagers located in the border region. As per the official statement issued, the BSF aims to protect precious lives, diminish suffering, preserve human dignity, and provide a feeling of security among the people situated near the border. Until now, around 150 villagers have been provided refuge in the camps of BSF.
