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Today, June 15, is predicted to see the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy, whose name means "disaster" in Bengali. A 325-kilometre stretch of coastline between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan was to be battered by strong winds, storm surges, and torrential rains. As of 12:30 PM severe storm, according to the India Meteorological Department, was 201 kilometres west of Devbhumi Dwarka and 170 km from Jakhau Port.
Below are the Ten facts that people should know about:
1. Cyclone Biparjoy is less than 150 kilometres from the Gujarat shore. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), it will pass through Saurashtra, Kutch, and the neighbouring Pakistani beaches between Mandvi and Karachi close to Jakhau Port between 4 and 8 PM.
2. Biparjoy, categorized as a "very severe cyclonic storm" of category 3, is expected to have winds that reach a top speed of 115–125 kmph. It also stated that wind speed was predicted to increase throughout the afternoon.
3. At 02:30 IST on June 15, 2023, VSCS Biparjoy was over the northeastern Arabian Sea, roughly 200 km west-southwest of Jakhau Port (Gujarat). IMD's most recent cyclone advisory stated the storm will "cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjacent Pakistani coasts between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau Port by the evening today as a VSVS."
4. The weather office further stated that isolated areas in the Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, and Jamnagar districts are expected to see exceptionally heavy rainfall as cyclone Biparjoy approaches the shore. The government relocated residents from almost 120 villages in the Kutch district, that were between 0 and 10 kilometres from the coast.
5. Today, a meeting at the State Emergency Operation Center in Gandhinagar to discuss cyclone readiness was presided over by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. According to the government, eight coastal districts of Kutch, Jamnagar, Morbi, Rajkot, Devbhumi Dwarka, Junagadh, Porbandar, and Gir Somnath have so far transferred about one lakh residents to temporary shelters.
6. In various coastal districts, there are 18 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 12 teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), 115 teams of the State Road and Building Department, and 397 teams of the State Electricity Department.
7. According to the Ministry of Defence, all branches of the armed forces—including the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard—have taken the required precautions to help the people of Gujarat.
8. Fishing operations have been postponed till tomorrow (June 16), ports are closed, and ships are moored as the water got choppy and the weather turned foul due to the coming storm, with the area experiencing unusually heavy rains and high gusts.
9. To safeguard the safety of passengers and railway operations, 76 trains, according to the Western Railway, have been cancelled as a precaution. According to another notice, the two most well-known Gujarati temples, Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district and Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhumi Dwarka, would be closed on Thursday to pilgrims.
10. Low-lying parts of the districts that are expected to be affected by the landfall are likely to be flooded by a storm surge that is between two and three meters above the astronomical tide. The IMD has warned that the tides in some locations might surge by up to 3-6 meters. Following 'Tauktae' in May 2021, this will be the state's second hurricane in two years.
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