NEW DELHI, JUNE 1
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday took stock of the preparation for an impending cyclone that is likely to hit Maharashtra and Gujarat on Wednesday.
The Home Ministry has deployed 23 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, officials said.
“Union Home Minister @AmitShah held a review meeting with senior officials of NDMA, NDRF, IMD & Indian Coast Guard on preparedness for dealing with Cyclone brewing in the Arabian sea which is expected to hit some parts of Maharashtra & Gujarat. MoS @nityanandraibjp was also present,” Shah’s office tweeted.
Of the 23 teams of the NDRF, 11 teams were pre-positioned in Gujarat, 10 teams in Maharashtra, and two teams in Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the officials said. A team of the NDRF comprises about 45 personnel.
According to the India Meteorological Department, a depression in the Arabian Sea is likely to intensify into a severe cyclone and cross north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts on June 3.
The depression will intensify into a deep depression – the third and fourth stages of any cyclone formation. It will intensify into a cyclonic storm by Tuesday, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said.
“It (the storm) is very likely to move nearly northwards initially till Tuesday morning and then recurve north-northeastwards and cross north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts between Harihareshwar (Raigad, Maharashtra) and Daman during evening/night of June 3,” the Cyclone Warning Division said.
The nearly 260 km patch between Raigad and Daman has one of the highest population densities in the country. Apart from Mumbai, it also has satellite cities like Thane, Navi-Mumbai, Panvel, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar, Ulhasnagar, Badlapur and Ambernath.
When it crosses the coast on the evening of June 3, it will have a speed of 105-110 kmph, the IMD said, adding that heavy rains are also expected in south Gujarat and coastal Maharashtra.
