Two dead, trees uprooted, power cut in nearly 1,000 villages: Cyclone Biparjoy wreaks havoc in Gujarat

Squally winds had overturned hundreds of trees, damaged communication towers, and yanked out electricity poles as the cyclone made way to land, causing widespread damage.

Cost to life

Cyclone Biparjoy’s landfall started at around 6.30 pm on Thursday evening, bringing heavy rain and high speed winds travelling at 115-125 kilometre per hour (kmph).

Ram Parmar (55), a shepherd, and his son Rajesh (22) lost their lives while they were trying to save their herd of sheep drowning in Sodvadar village, on the outskirts of Bhavnagar city.

At least 23 people were reported injured in Dwarka, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Morbi, and Rajkot on Thursday, as per the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). In addition, a total of 24 animals were reported dead in the storm.

Several areas in Gujarat were inundated after heavy rainfall. (Express photo)

Over 1.08 lakh people were evacuated to safety.

Most affected areas

Eight districts along Gujarat’s coast bore the brunt of the cyclone – Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Morbi, and Rajkot.

Several trees were uprooted, electricity poles toppled, and power outages reported in the devastation. Nearly 940 villages were plunged into darkness as the cyclonic storm disrupted power supplies in several parts along the coast, officials were quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Workers remove trees uprooted following the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy.

In Dwarka, officials said, over 350 electricity poles have fallen due to the gusty winds since Wednesday. The Paschim Gujarat Vij Corporation Limited (PGVCL) has moved 17 teams of officials and engineers to the district to enable quick restoration of electricity.

Tiled and fibre composite roofs of many houses have been blown away, as per Abdul Sumra, sarpanch of Jakhau village.

“The winds are gusting through Kutch amidst rain as the cyclone continues to progress. Naliya and Jakhau in Abdasa and Dayapar in Lakhpat are the worst affected areas as per primary reports. But we will start assessing the damage now. There are some communication issues in Dayapar as a few telecom towers are damaged and others have encountered power failures. Elsewhere, the communication lines are still active,” Kutch District Collector Amit Arora told The Indian Express on Friday.

Rainfall of 12.70 mm was recorded in Gujarat in the 24 hours ending on 7 am, Friday.

The disaster management response

The central government had deployed 19 teams of the NDRF in Gujarat on Thursday, with the highest number of these – six – in Kutch. Twelve teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were also engaged in mitigating the effects of the cyclone.

NDRF personnel engage in restoration work following the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy. (Express photo)

At a meeting at the State Emergency Operations Centre in Gandhinagar on Thursday, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel directed officials to provide “cash doles, household goods, hut assistance and animal assistance to the affected.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Thursday called CM Patel to take stock of the situation. “He also expressed concern about the lions and other wild animals in Gir forest,” according to a statement released by the state government.

A government statement on Thursday quoted Chief Secretary Raj Kumar as saying that the administration had begun moving the fallen trees and repairing the electricity poles in the districts of Porbandar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Morbi, Rajkot and Gir Somnath.

“The power department has made adequate arrangements to restore power supply in some villages in Dwarka, Jamnagar, Morbi and Junagadh due to fallen trees and rain,” the release said.

What’s the situation today?

Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to move northeastwards and weaken into a cyclonic storm around Saurashtra and Kutch by Friday noon, and then further reduce to a depression by the same evening over south Rajasthan, the IMD has said.

According to IMD Gujarat director Manorama Mohanty, districts like Banaskantha and Patan in north Gujarat were likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next two days. “Light to moderate rainfall at many places with Heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls very likely at isolated places over southwest Rajasthan on 16th & 17th June; southeast Rajasthan on 17th & 18th June,” the weather agency said in its morning bulletin.

The cyclonic disturbance is expected to lose most of its energy by Friday, though its effects would remain for the next two to three days. Some of these effects will be felt in Delhi, Haryana, and their adjoining areas as well. Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds is likely in Delhi and its surrounding areas over the next two days, the IMD said.

Meanwhile, relief efforts in Gujarat are underway. Chief Minister Patel assessed the impact of the cyclone in a review meeting held at the State Emergency Operation Center in Gandhinagar on Friday morning. Disaster response forces are engaged in clearing electricity poles, fallen poles, and other debris blocking the roads in affected regions.

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