Cyclone Vayu turned 'very severe'; will remain strong even after landfall

An alert has been sounded in 10 districts of Gujarat as Cyclone Vayu has turned "very severe" and its impact is expected to remain strong for 24 hours even after its landfall on Thursday.

Fishermen try to control their boat amidst rough sea waters at Puri beach. (PTI Photo/ File)

NEW DELHI: An alert has been sounded in 10 districts of Gujarat as Cyclone Vayu has turned "very severe" and its impact is expected to remain strong for 24 hours even after its landfall on Thursday, PTI quoted officials as saying. As many as 52 teams of the National Disaster Management Relief Force (NDRF), comprising around 45 rescuers each, have been moved to the state, while 10 columns of the Indian Army have been kept on stand-by. Warships and aircraft of the Indian Navy have been kept standby as well. A general alert has been sounded across 10 district in Gujarat as wind speeds are likely to touch 170 km per hour, a Home Ministry official said. Vayu has turned into a "very severe" cyclone and it is expected that its impact will continue to be strong for 24 hours even after the landfall -- between Porbandar and Union territory Diu, the official said. Normally a cyclone becomes weak after its landfall. Residents of some of the Gujarat districtshave been asked to move out to safer places or cyclone shelter centres. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba Wednesday chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) where preparation for relief and rescue operations were discussed threadbare. The NCMC meeting took stock of the precautionary measures taken by the Gujarat government and Diu UT administration with a view to ensure that no human life is lost, damage to vital infrastructureis minimisedandto ensure early recovery of all essential services post-cyclone landfall. Diving and rescue teams and relief materials have been kept on standby for rendering assistance to civil authorities, as required, another official said. Medical teams and facilities at Indian Naval hospital in Mumbai are on standby to handle medical emergencies. Both the administrations have also been advised for timely evacuation of people from low-lying coastal and vulnerable areas. Over 1.5 lakh moved to safety Nearly 1.5 lakh people were evacuated to safer places from the coastal districts of Saurashtra region in Gujarat and two special evacuation trains were being pressed into service with cyclone Vayu likely to be more intense at 150 km per hour when it makes landfall in the state. Flight operations from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to Porbandar, Diu, Kandla, Mundra and Bhavnagar in Saurashtra have been cancelled for Thursday, while all educational institutions have been shut and tourists on the Gujarat coast asked to steer out at the earliest, officials said. Two special evacuation trains have been pressed into service with one starting from Okha in Saurashtra for Rajkot at 5.45 p.m. on Wednesday, and another at 8.05 p.m. for Ahmedabad with 21 coaches. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who had a review meeting with the state administration at the State Emergency Operations Centre, told reporters that the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had upgraded the possible wind velocity from up to 120 km per hour till Tuesday evening to 150 km per hour and gusting at 175 km per hour. We had earlier planned to shift only those living in kutcha (thatched) houses but in the wake of forecasts that the cyclone could be severe, decided to shift all the people in coastal villages, Rupani said. The Chief Minister added that there was no other option but to evacuate the maximum number of people to safety. "The government's success would be in zero death," he said. Rupani said more than 1.20 lakh people were shifted by around noon and many more would be moved by the evening. (With inputs from agencies)