Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Porbandar, Rajkot, Junagarh, Diu, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts are expected to be worst affected by cyclone Vayu
New Delhi: With the cyclonic storm Vayu inching closer to the Gujarat coast, the home ministry on tuesday deployed National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and have put teams of the Indian army on standby. The coastguard and Border Security Forces (BSF) have also been called in.
Vayu is likely to make landfall over the Gujarat coast in the form of a severe cyclonic storm early Thursday morning with winds gusting up to 135kmph and storm surges of up to 1.5 metres, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.
The IMD has issued a highest-level red alert, for Saurashtra and Kutch.
VSCS ‘VAYU’ over Eastcentral Arabian Sea is about 340 km nearly south of Veraval (Gujarat).
It is very likely to move nearly northwards and cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva around Veraval & Diu region as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm in morning of 13th June 2019. pic.twitter.com/0Qqj4rqiai
"The storm is moving northward from its cuurent position off the Konkan coast and is likely to slam into the Saurashtra coast between Porbandar and Mahuva. It could cause extensive damage to huts, weak structures, power lines and trees, besides flooding low-lying areas", added IMD.
Also read: Cyclone Vayu to hit Gujarat on June 13, NDRF deployed
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed a C-17 transporter aircraft to carry out humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations. P8I and IL aircraft are standby to undertake SAR missions as required.
Indian Navy Diving and Rescue Teams and Relief Material have been kept standby for rendering assistance to civil authorities, as required. Medical teams and facilities at Indian Naval Hospital Asvini at Mumbai are standby to handle medical emergencies.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Police, Coast Guard and Indian Navy are on alert in Mumbai. Indian Navy ships operating at sea and aircraft and helicopters on routine sorties have called all fishermen back from the sea. Announcements are being made at coastal areas advising people to not venture into the sea.
Headquarters of the Offshore Defence and Advisory Group has also issued an advisory on cyclone 'Vayu' to all offshore platforms
Vijay Rupani, Gujarat chief minister, has asked all the tourists in Dwarka, Somnath, Sasan and Kutch to move towards safer ares by afternoon on June 12.
The Indian Coastguard has said that ten Chinese vessels have been allowed to remain docked at the Ratnagiri port in humanitarian light after they sought shelter from the authorities to avoid being hit by the severity of cyclone Vayu.
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