Cyclone Nisarga: Health minister cautions fishermen to suspend ops & not venture into sea

Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday advised fishermen to suspend all operations and not venture into the East-central and Northeast Arabian Sea. He also cautioned the fishermen not to venture into the Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and south Gujarat coast. Harsh Vardhan further recommended the people to remain indoors however mobilise evacuation from low lying areas.

Sharing weather update report about the cyclonic storm Vardhan further said Cyclone Nisarga has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and cantered this morning at 05:30 hours over the east-central Arabian Sea about 165 km southwest of Alibag and 215 km south of Mumbai. Heavy rainfalls are likely over Coastal Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat next few hours, he added.

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Ahead of the expected landfall of cyclone 'Nisarga' in Maharashtra and Gujarat coastal areas, trains have been rescheduled and massive evacuation drive-by response teams of NDRF are going on in areas likely to be affected, Vardhan said. He also shared the latest updates on Wind warning for Cyclone Nisarga.

Wind warning report

According to the wind warning report, the wind speed at Bhavnagar is expected to be 55-65 gusting to 75 kmph. In Surat & Bharuch the wind speed is likely to be between 70-80 gusting to 90kmph. In Mumbai, Raigad, Thane and Palghar the wind speed will be from 100-110 gusting to 120 kmph and 80-90 gusting to 100 kmph wind speed is likely to be at Ratnagiri and Sindhudrug.

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In the wake of Cyclone Nisarga only 19 flights, including 11 departures and eight arrivals, will be operated from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Wednesday. According to reports, the aforementioned flights will be operated by five airlines, including Air Asia India, Air India, IndiGo, GoAir, and SpiceJet. However, passengers have been cautioned about probable changes in the schedule of the flights due to the cyclone.

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