Biparjoy makes landfall

Ahmedabad/New Delhi: Cyclone Biparjoy started making much awaited landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat's Kutch district on Thursday evening after churning across the Arabian Sea for over 10 days as multi-agency response teams remained alert for relief and rescue efforts, while about one lakh people were moved to safer places in the state.

The landfall process will be completed by midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Strong winds and heavy rains battered Kutch and Saurashtra coasts as hundreds of personnel from disaster management agencies and other departments remained on high alert for relief and rescue operations, while three persons were injured in Devbhoomi Dwarka district after a tree fell on them. "Dense convective clouds have entered Kutch and Devbhumi Dwarka districts and therefore, the landfall process has commenced. It will continue until midnight," IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said in New Delhi.

Landfall indicates a cyclonic storm moving over land after being over water. The eye of the cyclone is around 50 km in diametre. Biparjoy is marching ahead with a speed of 13-14 kmph. Thus, it will take around five hours for the wall cloud and the eye to completely cross into the land, Mohapatra said.

The life period of Biparjoy, which developed over the southeast Arabian Sea at 5.30 am on June 6, is about 10 days and 12 hours so far. The extremely severe Cyclone Kyarr of 2019 over the Arabian Sea had a life of 9 days and 15 hours. Nearly one lakh people living in eight coastal districts have been shifted to temporary shelters in Gujarat as a precautionary measure.