12 hours after its landfall, cyclone Biparjoy continues to batter Gujarat’s Kutch

1/12

The landfall process of Cyclone Biparjoy begins in the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat and will continue till midnight, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)

2/12

The cyclone will be crossing Saurashtra & Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by tonight. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)

3/12

In this picture, one can see people navigate through waterlogged roads as heavy downpour lashes Bhuj city following the landfall of cyclone Biparjoy over Gujarat coast this evening. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)

4/12

All shops and offices were shut in Gujarat's Dwarka as the coastal town in Devbhumi braced for landfall of cyclone Biparjoy over nearby Kutch coast earlier today. (Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)

5/12

As a result of businesses, offices, and schools being shut, the roads were empty as few people dared to venture outdoors. (Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)

6/12

Two teams each of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in Gujarat. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

7/12

The Gujarat government has so far shifted more than 94,000 people living in eight coastal districts to temporary shelters. In this picture, you can see women walking back to a cyclone shelter at Jakhau ahead of landfall of the cyclone. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

8/12

The government also issued prohibitory orders, shut down public transport and advised people to remain indoors. Here, you can see the Indian Army jawans removing a tree uprooted by squally winds of cyclone Biparjoy in coastal Dwarka town in Devbhumi Dwarka. (Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)

9/12

In this picture, you can see even as streets bore a deserted look, some continued to venture out in the safety of their cars. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

10/12

Almost one lakh people from eight coastal districts of Gujarat have been shifted to schools and other government buildings being temporarily used as shelters. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

11/12

Here, you can see people belonging to Fakirani Jat tribe (nomads of Great Rann of Kutch) at a cyclone shelter in Jakhau. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

12/12

Officials of the Fire and Emergency Services of Dwarka also evacuated street dwellers to a safer location. (Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)

“Trees have fallen and we have switched off power in many areas as a precautionary measure,” the collector further said.

Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall at Jakhau port in Kutch district’s Abdasa taluka between 6 pm and 11 pm on Thursday with a sustained wind speed of 115-125 km per hour and heavy rainfall. In Jakhau village, 10 km inland from Jakhau port, some houses have been damaged. “Tiled and fibre composite roofs of many houses have been blown away but no one is injured,” Abdul Sumra, sarpanch of Jakhau village, told The Indian Express.

However, telecom services are still available as the government had ordered telecom service providers to allow access to even those who are not their subscribers. “It appears communication will not be a major problem. Teams have set out to assess the condition of roads and open them to vehicular traffic by removing uprooted trees and electricity poles,” Devang Rathod, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Abdasa, told The Indian Express over the phone from his office in Naliya, a village 22 km inland from Jakhau port.

“The IMD has predicted that gusting winds and rains will persist in Kutch at least till afternoon before cyclone crosses over to Rajasthan,” Rathod said, adding, “After the initial gusts and rain early on Thursday evening, there was a calm in Naliya for almost six hours between 9 pm Thursday and 3 am Friday as the eye of the storm passed over the region. However, stormy winds returned with even higher wind speeds at around 3.30 am and they continue to blow even now,” the SDM said at 7.24 am.