The Met department has issued a cyclone alert for Mumbai and adjoining areas. Many flights to and from Mumbai have been delayed. Heavy to very heavy rains have been forecast around Gujarat and the Konkan coast. Mumbai, Mangalore and Surat are the major cities on the cyclone path.
This cyclone, called PHYAN, is pegged at level six and the Met department has advised people in low lying areas to vacate at the earliest. It has also predicted rough seas, which is why port activities have been reduced and fishermen warned against venturing out into the sea. All emergency services have been put on high alert.
A depression had formed over the Arabian Sea, about 370 km southwest of Mangalore on Monday. It moved northwest through the night, forming a deep depression 470 km west of Mangalore by 8.30 am on Tuesday.
The cyclone is likely to hit the southern coast of Gujarat on Wednesday afternoon, accompanied by winds up to 85 km per hour and heavy rainfall up to 25 cm in the region, the Met department has said.
The Met Department said on its website: “The system is likely to intensify into a cyclone and move in a northerly direction for some time more, and then north-northeastwards and cross the south Gujarat and north Maharashtra coast between Mahuva and Dahanu by the early hours of November 12.” Bhavnagar Collector Pradeep Shah said fishermen have been issued an advisory while the district administration has taken precautionary measures for any emergency.
Bhavnagar district lies off the Gulf of Cambay, which falls in the trajectory of the depression. Shah added: “The collectorate has issued an advice and wants the people not to panic.”
Posted in 
Tags: 
