Cyclone Vayu, which has now intensified into a "very severe cyclonic storm", is expected to make a landfall in Gujarat on Thursday morning.
As cyclone 'Vayu' advances towards Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday advised people to follow real-time information being provided by local agencies to stay safe.
"Praying for the safety and wellbeing of all those affected by Cyclone Vayu. The government and local agencies are providing real-time information, which I urge those in affected areas to closely follow," he said in a tweet.
As per the weather department, the cyclone is expected to make a landfall in Gujarat on Thursday morning.
As per the latest weather information, the cyclone has intensified into a "very severe cyclonic storm" and is located around 340 km south of Gujarat's Veraval coast.
It would hit the coast near Veraval as a very severe cyclonic storm "with a wind speed of 145 to 155 kmph gusting to 170 kmph around morning of June 13," a release issued by the meteorological department said.
As the cyclone is steadily advancing towards the Gujarat coast, the state government has launched a massive evacuation exercise to shift around three lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions, an official said.
Operations at all ports and airports located near the Gujarat coastline have been halted temporarily as a precautionary measure against cyclone 'Vayu', the state government said on Wednesday.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) started landing in Gujarat with the help of the Indian Air Force to undertake preventive evacuation of people living on the west coast, an IAF official said.
Because of the cyclonic storm, the Arabian Sea has turned turbulent and bigger waves are advancing towards coastal areas, the IMD said.
The Western Railway has announced that all trains passing through the coastal areas have either been short- terminated or cancelled for two days, from 6 pm on Wednesday.
The cyclone is likely to affect Kutch, Morbi, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Devbhoomi-Dwarka, Porbandar, Rajkot, Amreli, Bhavnagar and Gir-Somnath districts, an official said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday reviewed the preparations for cyclone Vayu, which is expected to make landfall in Gujarat on Thursday, and directed officials to ensure all possible steps for the safety of people.
The Indian Coast Guard, the Navy, Army and Air Force units have been put on standby and surveillance aircraft and helicopters are carrying out aerial surveillance, an official earlier said.
(With PTI inputs)
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