Air
passengers to and from the megapolis had a tough time Wednesday as nearly 400
flights were affected due to bad weather caused by the cycle Vayu which hit the
neighbouring Gujarat coast, according to an airport official.
It is likely to move
north-northwestwards for some time and then northwestwards, skirting the coast
of Saurashtra with wind speeds of 135 kmph to 145 kmph from Thursday afternoon.
Vayu has turned into a "very severe"
cyclone and it is expected that its impact will continue to be strong for 24
hours even after the landfall between Porbandar and Union Territory Diu, the
official said.
Normally a cyclone becomes weak after its
landfall. Residents of some of the Gujarat districts have been asked to move
out to safer places or cyclone shelters.
Meanwhile, home secretary Rajiv Gauba on
Wednesday chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee where
preparation for relief and rescue operations were discussed threadbare.
Both the administrations have also been
advised for timely evacuation of people from low-lying coastal and vulnerable
areas. The Gujarat and Diu administration are evacuating about three lakh
people from the identified vulnerable areas and they are being shifted to
around 700 cyclone and relief shelters.
400 Mumbai flights affected due to Cyclone
Vayu
The city airport is one of
the busiest in the country handling over 900 aircraft movements daily.
The city airport is one of
the busiest in the country handling over 900 aircraft movements daily. The
official said as many as 194 departing flights and 192 arrivals were delayed in
the wake of the bad weather due to the cyclone Vayu. At least two flights were
diverted from the city,
Cyclone Vayu changes course but
state remains on high alert
The Coast Guard, Army,
Navy, Air Force and the Border Security Force have been put on high
alert.
Briefing the media about preparations to deal with the cyclone,
Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue, Pankaj Kumar said police would do night
patrolling in vulnerable areas to make sure no one is left behind.
Cyclone Vayu now
130 km from Veraval in Gujarat
Cyclone Vayu over
east-central Arabian Sea appears to have changed course overnight. It
moved north-northwestwards in the last six hours, according to the India
Meteorological Department. It is currently 130 kilometres southwest of
Veraval in Gujarat and 180 kilometres south of Porbandar.
It is likely to
move north-northwestwards for some time and then northwestwards, skirting
the coast of Saurashtra with wind speeds of 135 kmph to 145 kmph from Thursday
afternoon.
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