Jakhau/Ahmedabad: Authorities on Tuesday shifted 21,000 people from coastal areas to temporary shelters two days before powerful cyclone Biparjoy's expected landfall near Jakhau port in Gujarat's Kutch district.
An official said several NDRF and SDRF teams are on standby.
He said the evacuation process was still underway and all the targeted population will be shifted to safer places by this evening.
The cyclone has "extensive damaging potential" and is likely to impact Gujarat's Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts the most, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The state government is aiming to evacuate people within 10 km of the coast, the official said, adding so far one fatality related to the cyclone has been recorded.
"We have already started evacuating people residing near the coast who are likely to be affected the most during the landfall. So far, various district administrations have shifted nearly 21,000 people to temporary shelters. The evacuation process is still on and all the targeted population will be shifted by today evening to safer places," said State Commissioner of Relief, Alok Kumar Pandey.
Ahmedabad IMD director Manorama Mohanty said the cyclone is likely to cross between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan near Jakhau port with 125-135 kmph wind speed gusting to 150 kmph on the evening of June 15.
A warning has been issued for extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds in coastal parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region, especially in the districts of Kutch, Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka, she said.
"After it makes landfall and weakens, the movement of the cyclone is likely to remain north-eastward and it is expected to move towards extreme south Rajasthan. It will bring heavy to very heavy rain in north Gujarat till June 15-17," Mohanty said.
Fishing activities have been suspended till June 16, ports are shut and ships are anchored as the sea turned very rough and weather became inclement with extremely heavy rainfall and strong wind in the region due to the approaching cyclone.
"Sea will remain very rough to high till Jun 14, increasing to high to phenomenal on June 15," Mohanty said.
Among the 21,000 evacuees, nearly 6,500 were evacuated in the Kutch district alone, followed by 5,000 in Devbhumi Dwarka, 4,000 in Rajkot, 2,000 in Morbi, more than 1,500 in Jamnagar, 550 in Porbandar and 500 in Junagadh district, Pandey said.
He said one person has died in an incident linked to the cyclone. On Monday, one Varsha Bavaliya was killed and her husband was injured after a tree fell on their motorcycle on a state highway in Jasdan taluka of Rajkot district due to strong winds.
In Mumbai, four boys drowned in rough seas on Monday.
"Four boys drowned at Juhu beach on Monday evening. So far, we have found the bodies of two, and the search is still ongoing to locate the remaining two," said a police official.
Pandey said the government is constantly working to ensure that there is no loss of life due to the weather phenomenon.
He said the rescue operation is being carried out in two phases, with people residing 0 to 5 km from the seashore to be shifted first. Thereafter, people living within a distance of 5 to 10 km from the coast will be moved to safer places, with priority to be given to children, pregnant women and the elderly.
The government said 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are on standby in affected districts of Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Morbi and Valsad.
The Western Railway said it has cancelled three trains to Bhuj and Gandhidham, short-terminated 30 trains and short-originated 25 others as a precautionary measure.
As the sea turned rough, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) evacuated 50 personnel from an oil rig located 40 km off the Dwarka coast in an overnight operation amid inclement weather conditions due to the cyclone, the maritime agency said on Tuesday.
India Coast Guard Region NorthWest evacuated 50 personnel from oil rig 'Key Singapore' 40 km seaward from Dwarka in seven sorties of overnight ops by ICG ALH aircraft and ship Shoor," the ICG said in a release.
As evacuation started on Monday, Jakhau port wore a deserted look. Fishing boats were lined up on the shore to ensure that they do not suffer much damage, said officials.
Shipping activities at the country's largest public sector port in Kandla were shut following the cyclone warning and around 3,000 people, including workers there, have been shifted to safer places, district administration officials said.
A total of five Union ministers from Gujarat reached various districts that are likely to be impacted by the cyclone to help and coordinate with the state administration in rescue and evacuation measures.
Union ministers Mansukh Mandaviya, Parshottam Rupala, Darshana Jardosh, Devushin Chauhan, and Mahendra Munjpara fanned out in the affected districts to coordinate with the state administration for relief and rescue operations.
Mandaviya said shelter homes are being set up with arrangements for rations and meals while an action plan is being put in place to tackle medical and health emergencies.
He said all labourers working at ports in coastal areas have been evacuated, ships have been anchored, and crew members shifted to safer places.
