Cyclone Vayu won’t hit Gujarat after changing trajectory overnight, the Met department has said. Gujarat continues to be in a state of high alert with 3 lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions being evacuated.
“CycloneVayu won’t hit Gujarat. It will pass nearby from Veraval, Porbandar, Dwarka. Its effect will be seen on the coastal regions as there will be heavy wind speed and heavy rain as well,” said Manorama Mohanty, scientist at India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ahmedabad.
The state government has launched a massive evacuation exercise to shift about 300,000 people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions.
“We had earlier planned to shift only those living in kutchha (thatched) houses but in the wake of forecasts that the cyclone could be severe, decided to shift all the people in coastal villages,” Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who had a review meeting with the state administration at the State Emergency Operations Centre, told reporters. “The government’s success would be in zero death,” Rupani added.
Ten columns of the Army (each with 70 personnel) have been deployed in the 10 districts, as well as Morbi and Bhavnagar, while another 24 columns have been put on standby, a defence release said Wednesday.
The IAF has also positioned the medium lift and light utility helicopters at nodal points in the state. A highly mobile deployable radar has been placed at Gandhinagar to channelise helicopter operations and establish communication with control centres, the IAF said.
