North Gujarat experienced extremely heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours as Cyclone Biparjoy gradually weakened from a very severe cyclonic storm to a "depression", according to officials.
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that the cyclone breached railway tracks at five locations in Rajasthan. Timely action was taken by the Railways to divert passenger trains, while efforts are underway on a war footing to restore the tracks. Western Railways also announced the cancellation of over a dozen trains due to the cyclone's impact.
The minister in a tweet wrote, "Track breached at five places in Rajasthan due to #Biparjoy; Railways took timely action and diverted passenger trains. Work is going at war footing to restore the tracks."
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued warnings of heavy rainfall in several regions, including south Rajasthan, north Gujarat, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, south interior Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Sikkim. Additionally, light to moderate rainfall is predicted in Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
The IMD statement highlighted the likelihood of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in south Rajasthan, with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall in the adjoining north Gujarat region and Kutch. Northeast India and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim are expected to experience light to moderate rainfall, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall in Meghalaya from June 17 to 19.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah acknowledged the Gujarat government's achievement of no reported casualties due to Cyclone Biparjoy, which made landfall on the Kutch coast with wind speeds of 140 kmph. During a visit to Bhuj, the district headquarters of Kutch, he assured that electricity would be restored in affected areas by June 20. The government plans to conduct surveys of crop, horticulture, and boat damage and announce a relief package accordingly.
Reports further indicate that several areas in Rajasthan witnessed heavy rainfall as the cyclone moved towards the desert state after hitting Gujarat. Sirohi received 37.5 mm of rainfall, Jalore recorded 36 mm, Barmer had 33.6 mm, Bikaner reported 26.6 mm, and Dabok received 13 mm.
The Meteorological Department issued a 'Red Alert' for Barmer, Jalore, and Sirohi, where moderate to heavy rainfall is expected to persist for 3 to 4 hours. 'Orange Alerts' were issued for Pali and Jodhpur, while a 'Yellow Alert' was announced for Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Churu, Sikar, Nagaur, Jhunjhunu, Ajmer, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Jaipur, Jaipur City, Dausa, Alwar, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Bundi, and Kota.
