Even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued warnings to the fishermen against venturing out to sea in view of the building up of Cyclone Shakhti, collectors of the coastal districts of Saurashtra who were attending a two-day national conference on land administration and disaster management in Gandhinagar, headed back to base by Saturday evening. Meanwhile, Sunday leaves for Collectorate staff were ordered cancelled as the IMD issued warnings over the severe cyclonic storm Shakhti, currently situated more than 500 km off the coastline. All districts are keeping a close tab over the developing situation even as the predictions say Shakhti is likely to move out at sea without making landfall in Gujarat. According to the IMD’s national bulletin, issued on Saturday, “Shakhti moved west-southwest with a speed of 13 kmph during last six hours and lay centered at 1730 hrs IST of on October 4, 2025 over northwest Arabian Sea about 580 km west of Dwarka, 580 km west-southwest of Naliya, 510 km southwest of Karachi (Pakistan), 390 km east of Ras Al Hadd (Oman) and 490 km east-northeast of Masirah (Oman).” The bulletin stated, “It is likely to move west-southwest and reach northwest and adjoining west central Arabian Sea by October 5. Thereafter, it will recurve and move east-northeast wards from the morning of October 6 and weaken gradually.” Dwarka District Development Officer (DDO) AB Pandor said, “The fishermen have been warned not to venture out to sea and all officers have been ordered not to leave the headquarters. We will know more on Sunday.” Jamnagar Collector KB Thakkar said that the cyclonic storm appeared to be moving away from Gujarat, adding, “however, as long as the storm is out at sea, we cannot take it easy and should be alert because we cannot exactly be sure what may happen next but it is currently 500 km away from the coast so we are watching the situation.” Porbandar Collector SD Dhanani said that the cyclone appeared to be moving away from Gujarat towards Oman, “But the situation may change if it recurves, so for now, we have issued warnings only for the fishermen.” Gir-Somnath district Collector NV Upadhyay said, “There is not much chance of the storm making landfall but we may have strong winds. As a precaution, we have cancelled all headquarters leaves on Sunday and asked everyone to remain on standby. We issued the fishermen warning earlier today and this warning will hold till October 7. We are hoping for the best.” Surat Range (Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Tapi and Dangs districts) IGP Prem Vir Singh said, “As per the meteorological forecast, there would be medium to heavy rainfall on October 8 and 9. We are keeping an eye on the situation. If necessary, we will make adequate arrangements in the coastal districts in South Gujarat. The arrangements will include patrolling and other measures. We are also in contact with the fishermen.” Devbhumi Dwarka Superintendent of Police Jayrajsinh Vala said, “The Okha Madhi village in Dwarka may be affected. We have alerted all the fishermen not to venture into the sea. We have also started making preparations to shift people if needed during the disaster. The police are also in contact with SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) and NDRF(National Disaster Response Force) teams.”
