Even as the entire India is reeling under heatwave, coastal areas in south Gujarat and Maharashtra have been put on high alert as Cyclon Vayu may cross the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva around Veraval and Diu early morning on Thursday (June 13) with wind speeds between 110 and 135 kmph over waters of the Arabian sea.
As Cyclone Vayu forms in the next two days and heads to the Gujarat coast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the cyclonic Vayu is located around 650 km south of Veraval coast and is "very likely to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm" in the next 12 hours. It has also issued a warning of heavy rains and high winds at a speed of over 110 kilometres on June 13 and 14 in coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch. Mumbai will also get affected by cyclonic Vayu, but not severely. Coastal areas in Karnataka, Kerala, Konkan, Goa and Lakshadweep are also expected to receive fairly widespread rainfall over the next three days. The cyclone, while not hitting the state, is likely to result in gusty winds and a turbulent sea," the IMD said.
The coastal districts of Gujarat where the cyclone's impact will be felt are Bhavnagar, Amreli, Gir-Somnath, Junagadh, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Devbhoomi-Dwarka, Rajkot, Morbi and Kutch. Schools and colleges of these districts have decided to remain shut between June 12 and 14. The Gujarat Government is adopting the model of Odisha that had put in place to tackle Cyclone Fani.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of state and central ministries and agencies concerned to deal with the situation arising Cyclone Vayu. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has pre-positioned 25 teams, comprising about 45 personnel each, and the rescuers are equipped with boats, tree-cutters and telecom equipment.
After the review meeting, Shah directed the senior officers to take every possible measure to ensure that people are safely evacuated and to ensure maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health, drinking water etc and that these are restored immediately in the event of damages caused to them. He also directed for 24X7 functioning of control rooms.
The meeting was attended by home secretary, secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences, and senior officers of IMD and Ministry of Home Affairs. Cabinet Secretary has also convened the meeting of National Crisis Management Committee on Tuesday evening to review the preparedness of the state and central agencies. Chief Secretaries of Gujarat and Advisor to Administrator of Diu will also attend the meeting. Home Ministry, in a statement, said that it was is in continuous touch with the state governments and Union Territories and the central agencies concerned.
In its forecast for June 13, the IMD said, "Gale wind speed of the order of 110-120 kmph gusting to 135 kmph very likely over north Arabian Sea and Gujarat coast in morning hours and decrease gradually thereafter. It is very likely to be 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph over north Maharashtra Coasts and northern parts of eastcentral Arabian Sea." Cyclone Vayu might bring light showers to cities, like Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Rajkot, Veraval and Bhuj on June 12 and June 13.
Cyclone Vayu will not get strong as Fani did. According to meteorologists, cyclones in the Arabian Sea are not as intense as those formed over the Bay of Bengal, which also tend to form over a longer duration.
The recent cyclone Fani, which hit the eastern coast in May, brought winds gusting up to 220 kmph, ravaging coastal areas in Odisha. The cyclone was also the longest lasting cyclone over the Bay of Bengal, travelling for as many as 11 days.
