Cyclone 'Biparjoy' is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening and high tidal waves were seen crashing in the coastline of Gujarat and Maharashtra's Mumbai in the morning. The cyclone in the Arabian Sea barrelling towards the Gujarat coast, parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region received heavy rains accompanied by strong winds. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), cyclone 'Biparjoy' would make landfall near Jakhau Port on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour.
This will be the second cyclone to hit the state in two years after 'Tauktae' in May 2021.
In the Mandvi beach in Kutch, the wind speed picked up and the waves were rough. The video showcases high tidal waves and wind stripping away parts of the tarp of kiosks.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), cyclone 'Biparjoy' would make landfall near Jakhau Port on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour.
IMD Director General Dr Mrityunjay Mohapatra told news agency ANI that 'Biparjoy' is a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm with damaging potential. 2-3m high tidal waves are expected in Kachchh and extremely heavy rainfall with high windspeed expected in Porbandar and Dwarka districts, he said.
Two most famous temples of Gujarat -- Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhumi Dwarka and Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district — will remain closed on Thursday for devotees, PTI reported citing a statement.
The IMD said the intensity of rainfall in parts of Gujarat would increase as the cyclone approaches, with isolated places in the districts of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar likely to witness extremely heavy rains.
Meanwhile, high tidal waves were also witnessed near the Gateway of India, in Mumbai. People were seen taking videos and photos of the high tides early morning on Thursday during their morning jog or cycling.
On Wednesday, 65 talukas of districts in Saurashtra regions received rainfall for 12 hours till 6 pm, State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) said in a release.
According to SEOC, 54 talukas across several districts received more than 10 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours till Wednesday morning. Khambhaliya taluka of Devbhumi Dwarka district received the highest 121 mm of rainfall, followed by Dwarka (92 mm) and Kalyanpur (70 mm) during this period.