Gujarat is bracing to face the impact of severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy which is expected to hit the state on June 15. Met department officials said this is the fourth major cyclone to affect Gujarat coast in five years. In 2019, cyclone Vayu made a landfall in the state followed by Nisarga in 2020 which hit Maharashtra giving ample rainfall to coastal Gujarat while in 2021, Tauktae made a landfall near Diu-Una causing widespread destruction.
Before this, the state experienced four major cyclones in 20 years beginning 1998 when a super-cyclone hit Kandla leaving behind a trail of unprecedented loss to human lives and property till 2018. Experts say climate change has rendered Gujarat vulnerable to cyclones. Met department officials added that the funnel-shaped coastal line from the origin of cyclones around Lakshadweep Islands to Gujarat is one of the reasons that the cyclones hit Saurashtra and Kutch coasts. “In future, the state may experience a higher number of cyclones due to rise in mean surface sea temperatures (SST) in the Indian Ocean region,” said an official.
Even as state administration initiated preparedness for Biparjoy on a war-footing, fresh projection by the IMD officials indicated that the landfall may take place near Jakhau in Kutch compared to earlier estimates of the Kutch-Pakistan border area. As of Monday evening, the cyclone was 300 km southwest from Porbandar coast.
PM Modi holds meeting
Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi held a meeting to review cyclone preparedness in Gujarat with the state government. Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and other senior officials from different departments participated in the meeting. The PM later tweeted, “Chaired a meeting to review the preparedness in the wake of the approaching Cyclone Biparjoy. Our teams are ensuring safe evacuations from vulnerable areas and maintenance of essential services.”
Union health minister, Mansukh Mandaviya said, “With cyclone 'Biparjoy' barreling towards Kutch district in Gujarat, shelter homes are being set up with arrangements for rations and meals while an action plan is being put in place to tackle medical and health emergencies.” He said all labourers working at ports in coastal areas have been evacuated, ships have been anchored, and crew members shifted to safer places.
He said better coordination among different state and Central agencies is vital to deal with the cyclone. "When all state and Central departments, the broadcast department, and the Army work in tandem, they can achieve great results. India is known in the world for its disaster management," he said.
Alok Kumar Pandey, state relief commissioner, said that 12 teams each of National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force are deployed in the state. About 24,000 boats are shifted to safer locations from coastal areas. Shelter homes are being prepared in schools and government-run facilities and food packs are being prepared.
“In the first phase, the persons living in the 5 km vicinity of the coast would be shifted. Soon, those living between 5 to 10 km would be shifted to safer locations. Between Mandvi and Jakhau, the entire area would be evacuated,” said Pandey.
"So far, various district administrations have shifted nearly 21,000 people to temporary shelters. The evacuation process is still on and all the targeted population will be shifted by Tuesday evening to safer places," said Pandey. Among the 21,000 people, nearly 6,500 were evacuated in Kutch district alone, followed by 5,000 in Devbhumi Dwarka, 4,000 in Rajkot, 2,000 in Morbi, more than 1,500 in Jamnagar, 550 in Porbandar and 500 in Junagadh district.
People who live between 0 and 5 km from the seashore will be relocated first, he added, adding that the rescue operation is being conducted in two stages. After that, those who live within 5 to 10 km of the coast will be relocated to safer areas, with the elderly, young children, and pregnant women receiving precedence.