Ahmedabad, June 16 (Hindustan Times). After making landfall near Jakhau port in Mandvi tehsil of Kutch district, Biparjoy’s cyclonic storm continued to affect entire Kutch, Dwarka and Jamnagar districts till late night. The landfall process of the cyclone lasted till 12.30 am. During this time there was a whirlwind in water, land and sky. The rain wreaked havoc with strong winds. It was moving northeastwards with a speed of 13 kmph during the last six hours. It has gone 40 km north-east from Jakhau port, while it has gone 30 km north-east from Naliya. Due to heavy rains, water has been filled at many places.
According to Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey, Kutch has received 78 mm i.e. 4 inches of rain in just 2 hours. Whereas in 240 villages, there have been maximum incidents of power supply disruption and falling of trees. More than a thousand trees have been uprooted in the districts of Kutch-Saurashtra. 73 trees have fallen in Dwarka. So far 22 people have been reported injured. The storm has now moved beyond South Rajasthan.
After the landfall of the cyclone, stormy winds raged in Dwarka district. Maximum damage is reported in Khambhalia. There is news of falling of more than 1500 electric poles in the district. 117 teams of PGVCL have been deployed in the district. Due to strong wind and rain in Saurashtra-Kutch sea coast, giant trees were uprooted at many places. Hundreds of villages were plunged into darkness as electric poles collapsed.
Biparjoy wreaked havoc in areas including Mandvi, Naliya, Narayan Sarovar, Jakhau Port, Mundra and Gandhidham in Kutch. Electricity has been cut in Mandvi for the last 18 hours. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Biparjoy became more destructive after hitting the Gujarat coast. It rapidly advanced in the areas of Saurashtra-Kutch. After this, stormy wind started in Mandvi. The wind speed was recorded between 80 to 125 kmph due to the cyclone. According to the IMD, 94,000 people were evacuated from the sea coasts due to the threat posed by the cyclone, thereby avoiding loss of life and property. Apart from this, 15 ships, 7 aircraft and NDRF team were deployed.
