By Venkatesh Raghavan*
Ahmedabad: Severe cyclone Biparjoy left a vast trail of devastation across coastal Gujarat. While it spared human lives, cattle scored casualties, with 23 dead. Besides, officials claimed that 23 persons were reported injured. Unlike the previous cyclone in 2021, which caused nearly 175 deaths, there was far less loss of human lives. The toll it wreaked on the state’s infrastructure including electric supply to villages as well as mobile communication towers was extensive.
Pakistan was largely spared the full force of the cyclone as it moved nearly east-northeastwards across north Gujarat and weakened gradually into a deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch around 1800 UTC (universal time constant) of today, June 16th and is likely to weaken further into a depression around 0000 utc of tomorrow, June 17th.
It was reported that the three deaths happened before Biparjoy made landfall in Gujarat. Subsequent to the landfall no casualties were reported. The landfall happened near Jakhau Port falling under the Kutch region of the state.
The damage done was acute in the Kutch and Saurashtra regions. From June 15th evening it continued unabated till 2.30 a.m. today, leaving behind a trail of destruction. As anticipated by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) there was heavy rainfall in the Jalore and Barmer districts of Rajasthan from the early hours of Friday. There was mild relief after the IMD said that the cyclone had been reduced from very severe to severe category.
The devastation trail formed included upwards of 5,000 electric poles damaged rendering more than 1000 villages powerless. The figure of 1,000 villages is far less than the initial damage done to 4600 villages, after the state power department swung swiftly into action, carrying out repair works in the Friday afternoon hours. Six teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were pressed into service to carry out swift relief and rescue operations in Gujarat’s Kutch district. Many villagers have been evacuated and taken to safer places of shelter since the advent of Biparjoy.
A combined State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and NDRF have already been deployed in anticipation of the high-intensity storm hitting the southern parts of Rajasthan that include Jaipur, Kota, Bharatpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur. India MD officials have said that the state has already received 69 mm of rainfall in the Jalore and Barmer regions of Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, all travel plans had to be put to rest. An instant halt was put to all trains leaving and entering Gujarat. Trains slated to reach destinations in Gujarat were diverted in the wake of the severe cyclonic storm. To and fro air travel too had ground to a halt for Gujarat. Ports in Gujarat too grounded all activities. This included Reliance’s Jamnagar port and Adani’s Mundra port.
As of now many parts of India and the adjoining Sindh district of Pakistan have been put on high alert besides the shutting down of all ports in the coastal stretch of the Arabian seas. With wind speeds above 140 km per hour, the heavy downpour was expected to get tamed late today. The NDRF operations are in full swing, rescuing people from the low-lying areas of Gujarat that include Dwarka and Mandvi municipal regions.
Furthermore, commercial flights from Jamnagar Port will stay suspended till further notice. A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) has been issued resulting in both Air India and Star Air cancelling all flights. The NOTAM issued on June 14, 2023, will be in effect till today and will wait for clearance post-tomorrow 12 a.m.
*Senior journalist
