Biparjoy set to re-curve towards Saurashtra, Kutch; landfall today

 Defence Minister speaks to 3 service chiefs, evacuation of people continue

PTI, 14 June 2023: Churning the Arabian Sea, Cyclone Biparjoy was set to re-curve towards Gujarat's Kutch area and adjoining south Pakistan, slightly weakening in the process but still threatening to swamp the region with storm surges, strong winds and heavy rains.

Cyclone Biparjoy on Wednesday was set to re-curve towards Gujarat's Kutch area, churning the Arabian Sea and adjoining south Pakistan, slightly weakening in the process but still threatening to swamp the region with storm surges, strong winds and heavy rains.

Since its formation on June 6 in the southeast Arabian Sea, Biparjoy had maintained a northward track, gathering strength and becoming an extremely severe cyclonic storm on June 11, packing wind speed of more than 160 kmph, and then losing intensity a day later, news agency PTI reported.

Authorities have so far shifted 50,000 people from coastal areas of Gujarat to temporary shelters ahead of the expected landfall of powerful cyclone 'Biparjoy' near Jakhau port in Kutch district.

With the cyclone barrelling towards the Gujarat coast, parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region received heavy rains accompanied by strong winds, the Met department said on Wednesday.

India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said Biparjoy was set to change path on Wednesday and begin moving north-eastwards towards Kutch and Saurashtra and have a landfall on Thursday evening near Jakhau Port.

"For the past six hours, it has become very slow, practically stationary. This is an indication that the direction of the movement of the cyclone will change now. We are expecting that it will move towards the northeast and it will hit Saurashtra, Kutch and adjoining Pakistan between Mandvi and Karachi near to Jakhau Port," he told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

"If you look at the intensity, cyclone Biparjoy has slightly weakened further. But, it will still have landfall as a very severe cyclonic storm with wind speed ranging from 125-135 kmph, gusting to 145 kmph from morning to evening on Thursday," Mohapatra said.

Under the influence of the cyclone, the low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch are likely to witness storm surges of 2-3 metres above the astronomical tide during landfall and inundating the region.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the state government's emergency operations centre on Tuesday night for a review of the preparedness.

The IMD said in a bulletin that the intensity of rainfall would increase as the cyclone approaches the Gujarat coast on June 15, with isolated places in the districts of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar likely to witness extremely heavy rains.

Cyclone Biparjoy is very likely to cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) near Jakhau port (Gujarat) by the evening of June 15 as a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph, it said.

Due to this, a few places in Porbandar, Rajkot, Morbi, Junagadh and the remaining districts of Saurashtra and North Gujarat region are also likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on Thursday.