Cyclone Vayu LIVE Updates: Gujarat prepares for 'Very Severe Cyclonic Storm', set to make landfall on Thursday morning

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh monitored the situation and reviewed the preparations of the Indian Coast Guard and Navy for tackling Cyclone Vayu:

Nine more trains of the Western Railways have been cancelled and another four short terminated with partial cancellation as a precautionary measure in view of the Cyclone Vayu.

"We have been monitoring it since last Saturday, took pre-emptive actions and ensured that there are no fishermen or boats out in the sea. We are monitoring the current situation and are fully prepared," says Iqbal Singh Chauhan, DIG of Coast Guard, Porbandar on Cyclone Vayu. 

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has reviewed the status of its airports in Gujarat in the wake of Cyclone Vayu. It has decide to resume operations at several airports in the state.

The extent of cyclone is over 900 km. So while eye of cyclone may or may not hit Porbandar, the system will still hit. Accompanying risk factors such as wind&storm surge and rainfall, all 3 stay very much threat factors. Hence please don't relax in preparedness: IMD, Mumbai.

Six teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are on alert in Porbandar:

No casualties have been recorded due to Cyclone Vayu till now in Gujarat, confirms Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue. 

Effect of Cyclone Vayu has been milder at most of the airports of Gujarat. No damage to any airport infrastructure or facilities has been reported so far: Review Status of Airports in Gujarat, as per news agency ANI.

The situation is normal at several parts of Gujarat including Surat, Bhuj, Keshod, Kandla, Jamnagar, Vadodara, Ahmedabad: ANI

Diu, Porbandar & Bhavnagar Airports that are currently witnessing a wind speed between 30-40 kmph gusting up to 60 kmph: ANI

PM Modi holds telephonic talk with Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani on cyclone preparedness immediately after reaching Bishkek for the SCO summit. He also assured that all assistance and support will be provided from Central Government to mitigate the effects of Cyclone Vayu.

India's West Coast is bracing for the landfall of Cyclone Vayu that is expected to hit parts of Gujarat in the Saurashtra and Kutch regions in the early hours of June 13. The state has taken several precautionary measures to mitigate any damage or destruction. 

Weather update:

Gale winds of speed ranging from 135-145 km per hour gusting to 160 km per hour are very likely to prevail over east-central & adjoining the northeast Arabian Sea. Wind speeds are expected to become gales with speeds reaching 145-155 km per hour gusting to 170 km per hour by Wednesday night and 50-60 km per hour gusting to 70 km per hour along & off Maharashtra coast. Thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds are expected to strike coastal areas of Gujarat later during the day. Both maximum and minimum temperatures in Gujarat are forecasted to be appreciably above normal.

Cargo movements at ports halted

All cargo shipments and related movement at all ports of Gujarat has been suspended temporarily including the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay). Upcoming ports like Chhara, Pipavav, swan energy's floating LNG units, Reliance Sikka Jetties, Okha, Salaya, Porbandar and various other small and medium ports have been asked to suspend the operations by Ports and Transport department of the Govt of Gujarat. Vessels that had been docked have been made to sail off at safer ports. Operations at Kandla, Mundra, Hazira, Mormugao, Dahej, and tuna have also been suspended

NDRF's contributions

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 40 rescue & relief teams along the coastal areas of Gujarat and Diu in the wake of anticipated cyclonic storm Vayu for rescue & relief operations. 36 teams have been pre-positioned at Kutch, Morbi, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Dwarka, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Amreli, Junagarh, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Valsad, Surat and Gandhi Nagar while 4 teams have been pre-positioned at Diu for a prompt response. NDRF teams are assisting the local administration in evacuating/relocating the people to safer places. On Wednesday, NDRF teams relocated over 74,000 people from coastal areas of Morbi, Bhavnagar, Junagarh, Gir Somnath, Jam Nagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Kutch, Porbandar, Rajkot & Amreli districts of Gujarat. The evacuation is still in progress. In addition, 6 NDRF teams each are being airlifted from Patna airport and INS Rajali to Gujarat. This will raise the number to 52 teams in Gujarat (47 teams) & Diu (05 Teams) for assisting the local administration in rescue & relief work. All NDRF teams are keeping close vigil over the development of cyclonic storm along with the local administration. Essential equipment & tools are kept on ready in vulnerable locations. In addition, NDRF teams are generating awareness among the locals in the vulnerable areas about the measures to be taken to deal with the cyclonic storm and other casualties that may arise due to the cyclone. Director General, NDRF is regularly coordinating with the Central Ministries/agencies and State authorities for an effective response during the anticipated cyclonic storm.

HELPLINE NUMBERS FOR VAYU

The following are the helpline numbers set up in order to help those affected by the cyclone. Grievances and complaints will be addressed via these helplines.  

• DWARKA CONTROL ROOM NO. - 02833 - 232125
• JAMNAGAR CONTROL ROOM NO - 0288 - 2553404
• PORBANDAR CONTROL ROOM NO - 0286 - 2220800
• DAHOD CONTROL ROOM NO - 02673 - 239277
• NAVSARI CONTROL ROOM NO - +91 2637 259 401
• PANCHMAHAL CONTROL ROOM NO  -  +91 2672 242 536
• CHHOTA UDAIPUR CONTROL ROOM NO   - +91 2669 233 021
• KUTCH CONTROL ROOM NO  -  02832 - 250080
• RAJKOT CONTROL ROOM NO  - 0281 - 2471573
• ARAVALLI CONTROL ROOM NO  - +91 2774 250 221

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani addressing the preparations: 

The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, has said that the Gujarat government is working together to prevent any disastrous impacts of Cyclone Vayu. He said, "we are working for people. We are with people of Gujarat. We are trying to provide every assistance to the people of Gujarat .10 districts have been identified and we are evacuating people from there. 1.5 lakh people have been evacuated and more than 3 lakh people will shift in the coming few hours.

"47 NDRF teams are here to assist us. Central govt alongside the military and coast guard are providing complete assistance to us", he added. 

Trains cancelled: 

In view of cyclone Vayu, the following trains are cancelled on 13th June:

1) 52955 Amreli-Junagadh,  
2) 52952 Junagadh-Delvada,  
3) 52946 Amreli-Veraval,  
4) 52929 Veraval-Amreli,  
5) 52950 Delvada-Veraval.

As per Skymet Weather, rains with strong winds (60-80 kmph) will occur over Ahmedabad, Anand, Aravali, Banas Kantha, Bharuch, Dohad, Gandhinagar, Kheda, Mahesana, Mahisagar, Narmada, Navsari, Panch Mahals, Patan, Surat, Tapi, The Dangs, Vadodara Valsad during next 48 hour.

NDRF evacuates citizens from beaches in Dwarka ahead of the expected landfall of Cyclone Vayu

Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) has said that a total of 1,64,090 people have been evacuated from 10 affected areas till 4 PM on Wednesday.

The state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has put western offshore installations on high alert  restricted helicopter sorties as a cyclone gathers intensity over the Arabian Sea, as per PTI.

At least 18,000 people have been evacuated from the low lying areas of Veraval alone and shifted to permanent structures. The evacuation has been completed in the region. 

Cabinet minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama is taking a meeting with the collector to make sure of preparations and for any other further evacuation that might be needed after landfall of Cycone Vayu. 

Several other cabinet ministers have been deployed in Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Amreli.

IMD Mumbai has predicted that isolated places in Palghar and Thane will experience thunderstorm accompanied with lighting and gusty wind along with intense spell of rain in the next four hours.

Details of evacuation from ten districts in Gujarat.

The Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba has reviewed the preparatory measures arising out of the Cyclonic Storm ‘VAYU', the Home Ministry said in a press statement. He chaired a high level meeting in Delhi where the India Meteorological Department apprised those present  about the cyclone storm and its impact.

The meeting was attended by senior Officers from Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Department of Telecom, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Disaster Management Authority, Integrated Defence Staff, India Meteorological Department and National Disaster Response Force.

The meeting was attended by senior Officers from Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Department of Telecom, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Disaster Management Authority, Integrated Defence Staff, India Meteorological Department and National Disaster Response Force.

In this meeting Chief Secretary of Gujarat and Advisor to Administrator of Diu were also connected through Video conferencing and they apprised about preparatory measures put in place for dealing with cyclonic Storm. Gujarat has already evacuated about 1.2 lakhs people from low lying areas to safer places and would complete the evacuation of 3 lakh people by 4 PM today. Similarly Diu has evacuated 8000 people and would complete the evacuation of over 10000 people by 4 PM.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued orders to telecom service providers to allow inter-circle roaming without any extra charge.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is in continuous touch with the State Governments/UT and the Central Agencies concerned. NDRF has pre-positioned 52 teams equipped with boats, tree-cutters, telecom equipments etc.

Indian Coast Guard, the Navy, Army and Air Force units have also been put on standby and surveillance aircraft and helicopters are carrying out aerial surveillance.

Reviewing the preparedness of the State and Central Agencies, Union Home Secretary directed the concerned officials to take all precautionary measures with a view to ensure that no human life is lost and minimize damage to infrastructure. He also reviewed arrangements for making available essential food, drinking water and medicines in relief camps and to ensure maintenance of all essential services such as Power, Telecommunications, health etc. and that these are restored immediately in the event of damages caused to them.
 

Pankaj Kumar, Addnl Chief Secretary, Gujarat Revenue Department gave details about the evacuation owing to Cyclone Vayu. He said that over 500 villages in coastal region have been evacuated, 2.15 lakh people have been shifted to shelters. The midnight police will be patrolling in the vulnerable areas. Six NDRF team deployed, 11 teams more ready. Nine SDRF teams, 14 companies of SRP and 300 marine commandos are also deployed. Nine helicopters placed at strategic points.

The Bhavnagar Division has operated three special trains between Mahuva - Botad, Veraval-Rajkot and Probander - Rajkot, the Western Railways account on Twitter informed.

Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday tweeted about the Cyclone Vayu.

The Airports Authority of India has decided to suspend flight operations at airports in Porbandar, Diu, Bhavnagar, Keshod & Kandla from Wednesday midnight till Thursday midnight.

Current status of the military, para-military and police forces deployed in Gujarat:
NDRF -  46 Columns
SDRF - 11 Columns
SRPF - 13 Columns
Indian Army - 10 Columns
BSF- 2 Columns
Marine Commandos - 300

70 trains have been fully cancelled and 28 trains will be short –terminated with partial cancellation on mainline by the Western Railway in view of Cyclone 'Vayu'

The administrations of the 10 districts, likely to be affected by the storm in Gujarat have released emergency helpline numbers. Grievances and complaints will be addressed via these helpline numbers.

Dwarka control room no: 02833 - 232125

Jamnagar control room no: 0288 - 2553404

Porbandar control room no: 0286 - 2220800

Dahod control room no: 02673 - 239277

Navsari control room no: +91 2637 259 401

Panchmahal control room no: +91 2672 242 536

Chhota Udaipur control room no: +91 2669 233 021

Kutch control room no: 02832 - 250080

Rajkot control room no: 0281 - 2471573

Aravalli control room no: +91 2774 250 221

Apart from the district administrations, the National Disaster Response Force has activated helpline no for Cyclone Vayu: +91-9711077372.
 

Cyclone Vayu won't hit Gujarat. It will pass nearby from Veraval, Porbandar, Dwarka. Its effect will be seen on the coastal regions as there will be heavy wind speed and heavy rain as well: Manorama Mohanty, scientist at India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ahmedabad