Trees were uprooted in large numbers, power outages were reported in many areas, and life was completely disrupted by destructive cyclone Biparjoy on Thursday in Gujarat’s Kutch district. However, as it moved further north, it started to lose strength early on Friday.
The National Disaster Response Force, or NDRF, reported that two people died before the’very violent’ cyclonic storm made landfall in Gujarat’s coastal areas on Thursday evening in addition to at least 23 other injuries.
Up till 2.30 a.m., Cyclone Biparjoy was centred over the Saurashtra-Kutch region, 30 kilometres north of Naliya. By early Friday morning, it was predicted to deteriorate into a cyclonic storm and proceed towards the northeast.
The India Meteorological Department or IMD predicted that it would move northeast and weaken into a cyclonic storm by early Friday morning and into a depression by that same evening across south Rajasthan.
Top news about Cyclone Biparjoy in Pakistan and Gujarat
1. Around 6.30 p.m. on Thursday, Biparjoy, a very severe cyclonic storm with winds of 115 to 125 kph and gusts up to 140 kph, made landfall close to Jakhau.
2. Electricity was cut off in 45 villages inside the Maliya tehsil due to electric cables and poles being broken by strong winds. Eleven villages now have power. In the rural and arid coastal regions, more than 300 electric poles have been damaged. Power is been restored to Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd. (PGVCL)
According to J. C. Goswami, executive engineer at PGVCL in Morbi, the Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd. (PGVCL) is striving to restore power to the remaining rural areas as quickly as feasible.
3. Following a phone conversation with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assessed the situation. PM Modi also inquired about the specifics of the lions and other wild animals’ safety measures in Gir Forest.
4. The cyclonic storm made landfall close to Jakhau Port on Thursday evening, but it quickly lost strength. By 2:30 am on Friday, the IMD reported that the storm was still packing winds of 100 km/h with gusts as high as 110 km/h.
5. According to Gujarat’s relief commissioner, Alok Singh, 940 villages are without electricity as a result of 524 trees falling, 24 animals being killed, and 24 electric poles falling in some locations.
6. Mandvi Town experienced an entire power blackout. Due to the severe gusts, many trees were uprooted on the Jakhau-Mandvi road and in Mandvi town. District collector Amit Arora stated that no casualties had been reported as of yet.
7. According to THE Western Railway, 99 trains that originate or terminate in Gujarat’s Biparjoy-affected areas would continue to be cancelled or short-terminated.
8. According to the Gujarati government, about 1 lakh people left coastal and low-lying districts to seek shelter.
9. Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s minister for climate change, stated that approximately 82,000 people had been evacuated from southeast coastal districts due to “a cyclone the likes of which Pakistan has never experienced.”
10. Karachi, home to roughly 20 million people, could experience floods due to storm surges that could reach four metres.
