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A severe cyclonic storm named Biparjoy is likely to hit India’s western state of Gujarat and southern parts of Pakistan this week, India’s weather department has said.
Biparjoy, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135 km per hour (78-84 mph) gusting up to 150 kph, is expected to make landfall on Thursday between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan, it has said.
As per the India’s Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC), the cyclone might result in storm surges of 2-3 metres in height, destruction of thatched houses, damage to pucca houses and roads, floodings, widespread damage to standing crops, plantations and orchards, and disruption of railways, powerlines and signalling systems in the northern and western coastal districts of Gujarat.
Meanwhile, the administration has so far shifted 21,000 people from different coastal districts to temporary shelters, an official said on Tuesday (June 13). Among the 21,000 people, nearly 6,500 were evacuated in Kutch district alone, followed by 5,000 in Devbhumi Dwarka, 4,000 in Rajkot, 2,000 in Morbi, more than 1,500 in Jamnagar, 550 in Porbandar and 500 in Junagadh district, he told reporters in Gandhinagar.
Here is a list some of the deadliest cyclones, complied by Reuters, that have hit India recently, increasing the government’s focus on disaster preparedness over the years.
MAY 2021, GUJARAT
More than 100 people – most of them in Gujarat – were killed and scores more reported missing when an ‘extremely severe cyclone’, named Tauktae, hit the western state, packing gusts of up to 210 km per hour.
MAY 2019, ODISHA
Almost 100 people were killed when the strongest cyclone to hit India in five years, named Fani, made landfall in the eastern state of Odisha. Authorities said many more would have died if 1.2 million people had not been evacuated before the cyclone struck.
If you want to know what is a cyclone and what are its types, click here.
OCTOBER 1999, ODISHA
A ‘super cyclonic storm’ crossed the Odisha coast near Paradip with a wind speed of 260 km per hour at the time of landfall, killing 9,885 people and injuring 2,142, according to official estimates.
JUNE 1998, GUJARAT
A ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ crossed the Gujarat coast near Porbandar with an intensity of 167 km per hour at the time of landfall, killing 1,173 people with another 1,774 reported missing, according to official data. Media reports, however, suggested at least 4,000 people were killed.
(With inputs from Reuters)
