In order to assess the situation in the state following the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel convened a meeting at the State Emergency Operations Centre in Gandhinagar on Friday.The district collectors of the impacted areas were given surveys to conduct by the Gujarat chief minister to determine the extent of the damage. IMD officials claim that the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) made landfall on the Kutch coast on Thursday night between 10:30 and 11:30 pm, around 10 kilometres north of Jakhau Port. Since then, it has diminished into a Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS), and during the next few hours, it is expected to decrease even further.
The morning after the landfall continued to show high-speed winds, heavy rainfall and rough sea conditions in various districts of Gujarat. Due to strong winds, the districts experienced damage in terms of infrastructure and the falling of electric poles and trees.
Visuals of heavy rains, high tide, waterlogging, and overflowing were seen at Gomti Ghat (Dwarka), Mandvi (Kutch), and Bhuj. Even other parts of the west coast, including Mumbai, experienced rough sea conditions – where tides as high as 4.27 m have been predicted by the state meteorological department.High-speed winds uprooted trees and caused road blockages and property damage in areas like Bhuj, Mandvi, Dwarka, Jamnagar, Lakhpat, Kutch district, and Naliya.
NDRF reports showed that atleast 23 people had been injured and 24 animal lives were lost as an impact of the landfall. Two people were killed before the landfall, and no human deaths have been reported thereafter. Meanwhile, around 108208 people were evacuated safely from affected districts by the district authority, NDRF, SDRF, Indian Armed Force and other official teams.The Gujarat Health Minister, Rushikesh Patel, said, “There is no report of loss of human lives in the Kachchh district, till now. Over 594 trees and electric poles fell due to the impacts of the storm according to officials. The fallen poles caused power outages in over 940 villages in Gujarat. District officials and PGVCL (Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited) teams were seen working to restore the power.
