Cyclone 'Biparjoy' has an extensive damaging potential and it is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts of Gujarat the most, the India meteorological department said on Tuesday.
'Areas within 100 km of the landfall could suffer catastrophic effect.'
A total of 33 teams have been earmarked by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to undertake relief and rescue operations in Gujarat and Maharashtra ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone 'Biparjoy' near the Jakhau port in Kutch district, officials said on Wednesday.
According to IMD, the cyclonic storm weakened into a 'deep depression' at 11:30 pm on Friday over Southeast Pakistan.
Cyclone Biparjoy has left a trail of destruction in Gujarat's Kutch and Saurashtra regions as some 1,000 villages are still without power with hundreds of electric poles getting damaged, while several coastal villages were flooded due to heavy rains and incoming seawater, officials said on Friday, a day after the storm made landfall.
"The PMSA arrested 18 Indian fishermen and seized their four boats on Sunday from the Jakhau region near IMB where they were on a fishing expedition," NFF secretary for Gujarat, Manish Lodhari told PTI.
More than 17,000 people living near the coastal areas in Gujarat have been evacuated by authorities in view of the approaching tropical cyclone Nilofar which, however, has gradually weakened and is expected to hit the state merely as a "depression".
No lives were lost after cyclone Biparjoy made landfall. Preparations for Biparjoy were not only extensive, they were also telecast far and wide. Ahead of the cyclone's landfall, Shyam G Menon observes there was considerable publicity on how much the government was geared up to face the storm and its aftermath.
With this, the total number of Indian fishermen apprehended by PMSA in the last 48 hours has gone up to 88.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force 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.
