The government has said that around 37,800 residents of eight Gujarati districts who live close to the sea have been evacuated as Cyclone Biparjoy approaches the Kutch coast in Gujarat. The storm is anticipated to approach Jakhau port on June 15 in the evening, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). According to a press release from the Gujarat government, evacuation efforts will continue on Wednesday in addition to the 37,794 residents who have already been evacuated. According to IMD, the cyclone has "extensive damaging potential" and is most likely to affect the districts of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, and Jamnagar.

“VSCS (very severe cyclonic storm) BIPARJOY over Arabian sea moved north northwestward and lay centered at 2.30 IST of 14th June, about 280 km WSW of Jakhau port. To cross near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by evening of 15th June as VSCS,” IMD said in the latest post.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the state government’s emergency operations centre on Tuesday night for a review of the preparedness, it said. The state government is aiming to evacuate people residing within 10 km from the shore, said an official. So far, one fatality related to the cyclone has been recorded, he said.

As per the report, the cyclone is likely to hit the shore near Jakhau port between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan with sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph on Thursday evening. The MeT Department has predicted extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds in coastal parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region, especially in the districts of Kutch, Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka. It is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rain in north Gujarat between June 15-17.

After it makes landfall and weakens, Biparjoy is likely to remain north-eastward and is expected to move towards extreme south Rajasthan.

Activities such as fishing have suspended till June 16, ports are shut and ships are anchored as the sea turned turbulent and weather became inclement with extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds in the region due to the approaching cyclone.

The government said 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are on standby in the districts of Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Morbi and Valsad.