The cyclonic storm Nisarga brewing in the Arabian Sea was barrelling towards Gujarat and is expected to hit the coast near Daman on the night of June 3, forcing the state government to brace up for any eventuality. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the cyclonic storm is packing strong winds and expected to pound heavy rain in the region on June 3 and 4. “The low-pressure system is around 900km away from Surat at present. We expect the cyclonic storm to hit the southern Gujarat coast near Daman on June 3 evening with a wind speed of 90 to 100 km per hour,” said Jayanta Sarkar, director, IMD, Ahmedabad.
Vulnerable villages in 7 districts warned
High alert has been sounded in Surat, Navsari, Bharuch, Valsad and Dang while Bhavnagar and Amreli have been kept on alert. Over 100 vulnerable villages in these seven districts have been alerted and shelter homes are being prepared to bring in people in the event of evacuation. After chairing a high-level meeting to assess the preparedness, chief minister Vijay Rupani said 10 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have already reached five districts of south Gujarat as well as Bhavnagar and Amreli districts.
“District collectors have been asked to shift people from low-lying areas to safer places and a control room has been activated in Gandhinagar to monitor the situation,” said Rupani. On Monday, heavy rain accompanied by strong winds lashed Bhavnagar and Tapi districts. The rainfall resulted in water logging in low-lying areas of Bhavnagar city while gale uprooted large number of trees and blew away hoardings and solar panels fitted on the rooftop of Bhavnagar University. Glass windows of a newly constructed building were also shattered due to winds and rain. Electricity supply to many areas was snapped for nearly three hours as a transformer near Barton Library got damaged. Vadod taluka of Tapi district received nearly 60mm rainfall while wet spell also prevailed in hill station Saputara on Monday.
Additional chief secretary, revenue, Pankaj Kumar said rescue teams will be equipped with masks, PPE kits and hand sanitisers and district administrations have been asked to prepare a list of Covid-19 patients in vulnerable areas to arrange for their shifting in shelter Homes and Covid hospitals in nearest schools and colleges.
Uddhav Thackeray asks people to stay indoors
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray appealed to the people of Mumbai to "stay indoors" as Cyclone Nisarga has been forecast by the weather office to make landfall in the state's coast on Wednesday. The cyclone that formed due to a low pressure area in the Arabian Sea comes at a time when the state with the highest number of coronavirus cases in India has been struggling to deal with an overburdened healthcare infrastructure. Any damage left in the wake of the cyclone will add more stress and could complicate the fight against COVID-19.
The Chief Minister asked the residents of Mumbai to be prepared to face possible power cuts as strong winds hit the city. He asked them to charge their gadgets and if possible, keep emergency lights handy. India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday said that tropical cyclone Nisarga has headed for the Maharashtra coast, and is going to make landfall on June 3 close to Mumbai.
