Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a review meeting on Monday as cyclone Biparjoy intensified into an "extremely severe cyclonic storm". It is likely to make landfall between Gujarat's Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan on Thursday afternoon.
The weather office has issued a cyclone alert for Saurashtra and Kutch coasts in Gujarat. "Sea conditions along and off Saurashtra and Kutch coasts will likely remain "rough to very rough" till Wednesday, and very rough to high on Thursday," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
"Kutch, Jamnagar, Morbi, Gir Somnath, Porbandar, and Devbhumi Dwarka districts are likely to be impacted by the cyclone with heavy rainfall and very high wind speed during June 13-15 which may go up to 150 kmph," it said.
Officials in Kutch district have started shifting people from low-lying areas to temporary shelters. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday visited the State Emergency Operation Center to review the preparedness of coastal districts to deal with any emergency situation.
The IMD has advised fishermen not to venture into the seas off the coast of Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Lakshadweep.
Flight operations in Mumbai were affected last evening due to inclement weather with cyclone Biparjoy gushing over the Arabian Sea. Several flights were cancelled or delayed owing to the weather conditions, while some were forced to abort the landing.
The cyclone was named Biparjoy by Bangladesh. The name means "disaster" or "calamity" in Bengali. As per IMD website, the name was adopted by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) countries in 2020 and pronounced Biporjoy.
