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Cyclone Nisarga to dump heavy rain in south Gujarat

Surat/Rajkot: South Gujarat districts were bracing for extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by winds gusting up to 70kmph on Thursday as Cyclone Nisarga saw heading towards north-east Maharashtra after making a landfall south of Alibaug.

The district administrations of Valsad, Navsari, Surat and Bharuch as well as the union territory of Daman were geared up to tackle possible destruction caused by the inclement weather conditions.



“On Thursday, heavy to very heavy rains very likely at isolated places in the districts of South Gujarat region namely Dangs, Navsari, Valsad and in Daman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Narmada, Bharuch, Surat and Tapi,” stated a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ahmedabad.

Thunderstorms and lightning with light to moderate rainfall is predicted in isolated places in most parts of Gujarat, IMD said.

Relief Commissioner Harshad Patel told reporters that over than 63,700 people living close to the sea in eight districts have been moved to safer places. Of these, nearly half (33,680) were in Valsad district, bordering Maharashtra, alone.

There was no rainfall or untoward incident reported from any of the vulnerable districts on Wednesday but weather remained squally in most parts under the impact of the cyclone

“The wind speed may increase up to 60 to 70 kmph as the cyclone is moves in south Gujarat direction,” said Patel.

As many as 18 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and six teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed at different locations.

In Surat city, more than 8,000 people living kutchha or precarious houses were shifted to shelter homes and schools building were opened for people wish to move there,'' said Banchhanidhi Pani, municipal commissioner. "Though cyclonic storm has been diverted, we are not out of the woods yet. People are advised to stay indoors,'' Pani said in a message to the citizens.

Kutch and Saurashtra’s coastal districts of Bhavnagar, Amreli, Gir Somnath, Jamnagar, Porbandar and Kutch also reeled under strong winds and rains in some parts while storm surge was seen in the sea.

Kutch witnessed squally and wet weather for nearly three hours beginning 4pm with winds blowing away roofs of at least seven houses in Bhuj and Nakhatrana talukas. Traffic movement was disrupted as trees got uprooted by gale while a signboard on national highway near Khavda collapsed on a chakkda.

An old big tree uprooted in Mandvi town due to which an internal road of Bharapar-Baladiya was closed. The dome of mango market in Anjar town was also blown blown away.

Porbandar too received around 9mm rainfall on Wednesday while wet weather prevailed in Palitana, Sihor, Gariyadhar and Sihor in Bhavnagar district and Maliya Hatina, Keshod, Manavadar taluka of Junagadh, Bhanvad taluka of Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamjodhpur taluka of Jamnagar district.

According to sources, at least 200 electricity poles collapsed in Junagadh, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Botad, Amreli and Surendrangar district, resulting in power outages.

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