Cyclone Biparjoy: PM Modi holds review meet, IMD issues orange alert for Saurashtra and Kutch coasts

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reviewed the situation related to Cyclone Biparjoy which is likely to hit the Kutch region of Gujarat on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Saurashtra and Kutch coasts in Gujarat over the east-central and adjoining northeast Arabian Sea.

The meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister P K Mishra, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Earth Sciences Secretary M Ravichandran, Kamal Kishore, Member National Disaster Management Authority, India, Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, among others.

According to a presentation made during the meeting, Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh and Morbi could experience stormy weather with a wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 145 kmph on June 15 morning to evening.

Fishing activities along Gujarat's south and north coasts have been suspended and authorities were evacuating people in districts by the sea in view of Cyclone Biparjoy which is likely to make landfall along the Saurashtra-Kutch coasts as a very severe cyclonic storm, officials said on Monday.

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Officials in coastal Devbhumi Dwarka said around 1,300 people have been shifted to safer places so far. In its latest bulletin, the IMD said the 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' was very likely to move north-northeast and cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) by the June 15 noon as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kilometres per hours (kmph) gusting to 150 kmph.