Cyclone Biparjoy: Rajasthan Prepares for Heavy Rain; Gujarat Faces Challenges of Restoring Power and Clearing Roads – 10 Points

When Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall at Jakhau Port on Thursday at 6.30 p.m. and continued to do so until 2.30 a.m., it caused havoc across Kutch and portions of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. As workers try to reopen roads and restore power, the state awoke to heavy rain and high winds on Friday morning.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned that north Gujarat should prepare for significant rainfall on Friday, despite the storm’s weakening and movement towards southern Rajasthan.

Top 10 developments related to the Biparjoy cyclone

1. According to Director General (DG) Atul Karwal of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Cyclone Biparjoy has not yet been linked to any fatalities.

However, Biparjoy was responsible for 23 injuries, extensive damage to public areas, and a disruption in the delivery of important services. According to the PTI, the storm left 4,600 villages without power and destroyed 5,120 electrical poles. According to the most recent estimate, over 1,000 communities were still without electricity after the power was later restored in 3,580 settlements. Additionally, three motorways experienced traffic disruption due to the almost 600 trees that were uprooted.

According to Karwal, 40% of the villages without power were affected by outages in the Kutch area alone.

According to a government statement published by PTI, 1,127 teams were operating in the districts of Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Morbi, Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Rajkot, and Porbandar as of Friday evening.

3. According to a government statement published by PTI, around 1,09,000 people were evacuated from dangerous places to make their way to temporary shelters in safer areas.

4. According to the IMD, officials in the region are relocating residents to safer regions since heavy rain is forecast for northern Gujarat.

Authorities in the north Gujarat districts of Banaskantha and Patan were preparing for its effects by relocating residents in low-lying regions to shelters as the storm moved farther inland. Up till Saturday morning, the IMD predicted severe to very heavy rain in Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Morbi, and Kutch, according to PTI.

5. Extremely heavy rains has prompted the issuance of red alert in numerous regions of Rajasthan. According to the forecast service, Rajasthan will see further rain until Monday.

Jalore, Sirohi, Barmer, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and surrounding districts in Rajasthan reported rain on Friday, with wind speeds in some places reaching 40 to 50 kmph.

“The meteorological service has issued a’red warning’ for unusually heavy rain expected on Saturday in remote parts of Barmer and Jalore. Jodhpur, Pali, and Sirohi are expected to have very heavy rainfall, while Jaisalmer, Rajsamand, Udaipur, and Dungarpur districts might experience severe rains, according to PTI.

“A red alert has been issued for Barmer, Jalore, Pali, and Sirohi districts on Sunday while Jodhpur, Nagaur, Ajmer, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, and Udaipur districts may receive very heavy rains and heavy rains are expected in Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Dungarpur, Banswara, Bundi, and Tonk districts,”

6. According to SDRF Commandant Rajkumar Gupta, 30 rescue teams have been sent to areas in Rajasthan that are on alert, while 22 more teams are waiting in reserve at district headquarters.

7. To react to lions and other animals experiencing cyclone-related problems, the Gujarat government sent over 200 personnel into the jungles of Gir and Kutch. Notably, Gujarat’s Gir is the only location in the world where Asiatic lions may be found. On Thursday night in the Gir East division’s Jasadhar Range, one of these teams managed to save two lion cubs that had fallen into an open well, according to a report from PTI, which cited an official.

According to PTI, cattle-rearers who were residing within the forest were also evacuated and relocated to makeshift shelters that were safer.

8. As the storm moved into the state, the Western Railways increased its initial count of 76 trains to up to 99 cancellations as a precaution. 23 further trains have been cancelled, three have short-terminated, and seven have short-originated, according to a press statement. As a result, there have already been 99 cancellations of trains, 39 short-terminations, and 38 short-origins.

9. To assess the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi phoned Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. According to reports, the PM inquired about the specifics of the safety measures in place in Gir Forest for wild animals, especially lions. The chief minister evaluated the cyclone’s effects this morning at the State Emergency Operation Centre in Gandhinagar.

10. According to Pakistani officials, the nation was mostly spared by the Biparjoy since it weakened after hitting India.

Although Pakistan was ready, the full impact was mostly avoided. High water levels overwhelmed coastal communities in Sindh including Sujawal, although most residents had already been relocated to higher land, according to a tweet from Pakistan’s climate change minister Sherry Rehman.