The landfall process for Cyclone Biparjoy has started, powering winds at 100 kmph and bringing heavy rain on Gujarat coast.
“The landfall process has started. The cyclone is still 70 km away and is moving towards the coast. It will take around 6 hours for the cyclone to cross the sea into the land,” Dr M Mohapatra, the chief of Indian Meteorological Office, said.
According to the IMD, Biparjoy has been classified as a Category 3 “very severe cyclonic storm” and is likely to power winds moving at 115-125 kmph.
Nearly one lakh people have been evacuated and moved to shelters ahead of the cyclone’s landfall. These include people from nearly 20 villages living within 10 km of the coast.
The cyclone will be crossing Saurashtra & Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by tonight.
