The landfall process of Cyclone Biparjoy, which has been churning the Arabian Sea for days, has started in Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat, amid heavy rainfall and strong winds, and is expected to continue upto midnight, said the India Meteorological Department on Thursday. "The landfall process of Cyclone Biperjoy has begun," IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra confirmed the develpment to news agency PTI. "...It will hit the coast between Karachi and Mandvi and close to Jakhau port of Gujarat. This is now located about 70 kilometres away from Jakhau port in the Arabian Sea," he added.


"It is moving at a speed of about 15 kmph...Hence, the landfall process has commenced over the coastal districts of Saurashtra and Kutch...Upto midnight, the landfall process will continue..," Mohapatra said.






On Wednesday, the cyclone re-curved towards Kutch area and adjoining south Pakistan and began moving north-eastwards. To minimise the impact of the landfall, 18 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deployed and around 94,000 people were reloacted from the affected areas, said NDRF Inspector General NS Bundela on Thursday. 


Two teams in Rajkot and one team in Jamnagar, along with 4 to 5 reserve teams in different locations wer deployed by the NDRF. 


Just hours ahead of the landfall, the India Meteorological Departmet predicted moderate rain ( 5-15 mm/hour) accompanied with light thunderstorms with a maximum surface wind speed of less than 40 kmph (in gusts) in Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Morbi, Rajkot, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Gir Somnath and Kutch districts of Gujarat. 


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Five people were reported dead before the cyclone made landfall while some houses were damaged in Jamnagar, said the NDRF on Thursday.


Indian Army troops also reached coastal districts of Gujarat on Tuesday where it deployed its flood relief columns.


Defence PRO & Spokesperson MoD, Wing Commander N Manish told ANI that all armed forces including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Indian Coast Guard have prepared themselves to provide assistance to the locals.


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Earlier on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the preparedness of the Armed Forces to tackle the storm.


"Spoke to all three Service Chiefs and reviewed the preparedness of the Armed Forces for the landfall of cyclone 'Biparjoy'. The Armed Forces are ready to provide every possible assistance to civil authorities in tackling any situation or contingency due to the cyclone," Singh had tweeted.


A red alert was issued by IMD as cyclone 'Biparjoy' warning for the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts in Gujarat.