Cyclone starts making landfall in Gujarat’s coast 

Biparjoy is marching ahead with a speed of 13-14 kmph.

Amidst strong winds and heavy rains, cyclone Biparjoy has started making landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat’s Kutch district after churning across the Arabian Sea for over 10 days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Thursday evening. 

Several areas of the affected districts were thrown in dark as the strong winds disrupted power supply services. 

In Kutch; people reminisced the devastation caused by massive cyclone exactly 25 years ago in June 1998 in which over 3000 people were killed in Kutch and coastal areas of Saurashtra. 

Since Thursday morning, strong winds and heavy rains battered Kutch and Saurashtra coasts as agencies of the state and centre remain on high alert even as the authorities shifted around one lakh people to approximately 1500 temporary shelters set up as part of the disaster mana efforts by the state. 

There are reports of hundreds of trees being uprooted by the winds and hoardings, electricity poles and some houses falling down due to the gutsy winds in coastal districts of the state. 

The IMD said the landfall process will be completed by Thursday midnight. 

“Dense convective clouds have entered Kutch and Devbhumi Dwarka districts and therefore, the landfall process has commenced. It will continue until midnight,” IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said in media briefing.