MANDVI, India: Authorities in India’s western state of Gujarat evacuated more than 75,000 people from vulnerable coastal communities with cyclone Biparjoy expected to whirl in from the Arabian Sea and make landfall by Thursday (Jun 15) evening.
Early on Thursday, the storm, classified as a very severe cyclone, was centred 180km off Jakhau port in Gujarat and 270km off Karachi in Pakistan, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The storm appeared to have lost some of its intensity, and is expected to have a maximum sustained wind speed of 115-125kmh gusting up to 140kmh, down from the 150kmh that the IMD had estimated on Wednesday.
There was no change in its path, however, and the cyclone was still expected to make landfall near India’s Jakhau port, between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi, the IMD said.
In the coastal town of Mandvi, a Reuters witness said while winds were high, the sky was blue and the sun was out on Thursday morning with shops starting to open and people coming out on the streets.
“On Thursday morning, wind speed as high as 90kmh were reported on Gujarat coast,” said a senior IMD official.
“The speed will rise gradually in the next few hours to 120kmh, gusting to 135kmh in the afternoon. We are expecting landfall in the evening when wind speeds would be even higher.”
Auditorium halls in schools and other government buildings were converted into relief camps to provide shelter to displaced people in both India and Pakistan.
Ships and boats have been moved from some areas of Pakistan’s coast while hospitals in the region were put on high alert as part of preparations for the cyclone.