Headed towards Rajasthan, cyclobe Biparjoy has caused heavy rainin several areas of Jalore and Barmer districts following its landfall in Gujarat, officials said on Friday. A meteorological department official said 60-70 mm rains occurred at a few places on Thursday night and extremely heavy rainfall is likely to occur in both the districts and adjoining areas on Friday. According to the official, 69 mm rainfall was recorded in Jalore till Friday morning. The department has sounded a "red" alert for Jalore and Barmer. More than 200 mm rainfall may occur in the areas where the alert has been sounded.
The cyclone will weaken and move further over Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pali and Sirohi where very heavy rainfall is likely, the official said, adding that heavy rains may also occur in Rajsamand, Dungarpur and nearby areas on Friday and Saturday, news agency PTI reported.
Adjoining areas of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jalore and Jodhpur could witness strong winds with a speed of 60 to 70 kilometres per hour are expected on Friday and Jodhpur, Udaipur and Ajmer could face the same on Saturday.
Eight companies of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in Jaipur, Kota, Bharatpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner and one company of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been deployed in Kishangarh in Ajmer district to rescue people affected by the heavy rains.
The local administration in the affected districts has also made preparations, such as arrangement of pumps and deployment of civil defence and disaster management teams, in view of the "red" and "orange" alerts.
Impact In Gujarat
Over 300 electric poles were uprooted hitting normal life in Gujarat after severe cyclone storm Biparjoy made landfall in the state on Thursday at around 6:30 pm, reported PTI. The storm brought heavy rains in Kutch and other coastal areas. Hundreds of trees have got uprooted due to strong winds damaging the power supply in as many as 940 villages and low-lying areas near the sea were flooded. The wind speed went as high as 140 kmph.
As per an ANI, Alok Singh, Relief Commissioner of Gujarat said, "Around 22 people have been injured due to the storm. So far, there is no news of anyone's death. 23 animals have been killed, 524 trees have fallen, and electric poles have also fallen in some places due to which there is no electricity in 940 villages."
Mandvi town in Gujarat’s Kutch, Maliya in Morbi witnessed a complete blackout as trees and poles got damaged. Winds broke electric wires hitting the power supply in many regions.