AHMEDABAD, India: Early warnings, accurate identification of vulnerable areas and timely evacuations helped India to avert major casualties from cyclone Biparjoy, which battered the west coast late on Thursday (Jun 15), authorities said.
Biparjoy, which means “calamity” in the Bengali language, hit the state of Gujarat with speeds of up to 125kmh, blowing roofs off houses and uprooting trees and electricity poles.
Yet the only deaths recorded were those of two shepherds who died while trying to prevent their cattle being swept away during heavy rains and floods, hours before the cyclone made landfall.
In 1998, a major storm in Gujarat caused around 4,000 deaths, according to local media, while in 2021, close to 100 people died when an ‘extremely severe cyclone’ named Tauktae hit the state.
“Early identification of areas that were likely to be impacted by the cyclone and timely evacuation of people living within 10km of the coasts are the biggest reasons (for the low casualties),” said Kamal Dayani, a senior official in the Gujarat state government.
“Our focus from the beginning was on preventing loss of lives, not just human lives but even animals.”