Cyclone Nisarga Crosses Maharashtra Coast; Flight Operations Halted In Mumbai As Storm Wreaks Havoc

Over 40,000 people living near sea coast in Mumbai have been shifted to safer places as cyclone Nisarga made landfall.

Marine Drive wears a deserted look before Cyclone Nisarga was expected to make landfall in Mumbai. (Image: PTI)

Mumbai: After a wait of 72 hours, Cyclone Nisarga made a thumping landfall at Shriwardhan-Dive Agar in Raigad district, hitting coastal Maharashtra with full fury on Wednesday afternoon. As per the latest update from weather forecast agency India Meteorological Department (IMD), Nisarga blew in from the Arabian Sea, making landfall with super-speed wind of ranging between 120-140 kmph, at the coastal town, 40 km from Alibaug and roughly 95 km from Mumbai. IMD further informed that places including Kanpur, Jalaun, Auraiya, Unnao, Lucknow, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandsahar, Firozabad, Bareilly and adjoining areas are likely to witness thunderstorm/dust storm and lightning accompanied with hailstorm/ rain till 6 PM on Wednesday evening.

03.06.2020 1600 IST :-Thunderstorm with rain & would occur over and adjoining areas of Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Barsana, Deeg, Mathura, Bharatpur, Isolated places of Delhi during the next two hours. Hail precipitation is very likely over and nearby Faridabad during next one hour pic.twitter.com/zciOCK4zIH

— IMD Weather (@IMDWeather) June 3, 2020

The IMD in the morning had reported that the diameter of the eye of the cyclone is about 65 km as observed through Radar, which eventually decreased by noon, indicating intensification of the system. Hence wind speed increased from 85-95 kmph to 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph. Meanwhile, over 40,000 people living near sea coast in Mumbai have been shifted to safer places as cyclone Nisarga made landfall. 10 sailors were rescued from a ship that was stranded off the Ratnagiri coast in Maharashtra due to high tide and heavy rains. Around 1,500 people were evacuated and shifted to sturdy shelter in Alibaug.

Severe cyclonic storm #CycloneNisarga moved northwards and crossed Maharashtra coast close to south of Alibagh during 12.30 - 2.30 PM with a wind speed of 100 - 110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph

At 2.30 PM, it lay close to east-southeast of Alibagh, 75 km from Mumbai, 65 km from Pune pic.twitter.com/sa1c15Vmb1 — PIB in Maharashtra ???????? #MaskYourself ???? (@PIBMumbai) June 3, 2020

During the calamity, parts of Raigad district in the Konkan region of Maharashtra reported disruption in mobile network services due to devastating cyclone Nisarga. Amid fear of tress uprooting due to cyclonic storm 'Nisarga', all carnivorous animals in Mumbai zoo were shifted to holding areas in their enclosures to keep them safe from rain and strong winds, an official said on Wednesday. ALSO WATCH | Spine-Chilling Visuals Of Cyclone Nisarga Making Landfall In Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport witnessed a runway excursion today with FedEx flight 5033 arriving from Bengaluru. The incident occurred when the MD11 aircraft landed on runway 14/32. The aircraft was towed away from the runway and there has been no disruption in flight operations. The operations at Mumbai airport run by GVK-MIAL have been shut between 2:30 pm and 7 pm. Even the movement on Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Sea Link road has been stopped as off now. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the severe cyclonic storm will weaken down to a 'cyclonic storm' later this evening. As per reports, several areas in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra have started witnessing respite from the cyclone as rain have stopped and even skies have started getting clear. Nisarga comes on the heels of Cyclone 'Amphan' which had killed close to 90 people when it hit eastern India and Bangladesh on May 20, flattening villages, destroying farms and leaving millions without electricity.