Highlights:
- Cyclone Nisarga will be city’s 1st in a century
- The cyclone is likely to intensify in the coming 12 hours
- Union Home Minister had a video conference with the CM of Maharashtra
The tropical storm named “Nisarga” which is headed towards the coasts of Gujarat and Maharashtra is likely to intensify into a cyclone in the coming 10-12 hours. It is being expected that it will make a landfall close to Mumbai, tomorrow.
This would be the first cyclonic storm which will impact the financial capital of the country since 1882. Mumbai is already struggling with a pandemic as it has reported more than 41,000 cases so far.
The cyclone has the potential to intensify into a “severe cyclonic storm” in the coming 24 hours said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) today morning. Mumbai along with various neighbouring districts have been put on high alert already.
The India Meteorological Department said, “The depression over eastcentral Arabian Sea moved northwards with a speed of 11 kmph during past 06 hours intensified into a deep depression and lay centered at 0530 hours IST of today, the 02nd June, 2020 over Eastcentral Arabian Sea near latitude 15.0 N and longitude 71.2 E about 280 km west-southwest of Panjim (Goa), 490 km south-southwest of Mumbai (Maharashtra) and 710 km south-southwest of Surat (Gujarat),”.
The statement added, “It is very likely to intensify into a Cyclonic Storm during next 12 hours and further into a Severe Cyclonic Storm during subsequent 12 hours. It is very likely to move nearly northwards during next 06 hours and recurve north-northeastwards thereafter and cross north Maharashtra and adjoining south Gujarat coast between Harihareshwar (Raigad, Maharashtra) and Daman during the afternoon of 03rd June,”.
On Monday, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah had a discussion with Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra over video conference and reviewed the preparedness of the state, said the Chief Minister’s Office.
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In total, 31 teams of the NDRF or also known as the National Disaster Response Force has been deployed in both the state. 1 team of NDRF have 45 personnel in it. Director General of NDRF, S N Pradhan said, “Nisarga is a severe cyclone and we’re expecting a wind speed of 90-100 kmph, which I think is negotiable. Still, as a precautionary measure, we are going to start the evacuation of people from the coastal areas of the two states (Maharashtra and Gujarat) soon,”.
The weather department says that a storm surge – as high as 2 metres (6.5 feet) above the astronomical tide – will flood the low-lying areas of Mumbai, Raigad and Thane districts during the landfall of the cyclone.
A statement issued by the CM Officer of Maharashtra said that the fishermen have been asked to come back from the sea and respective district collectors have been tasked to make sure all proper arrangement has been made.
The statement added, hospitals which are currently not treating any Ccoronavirus patients will be made available for those needing medical assistance, it added.
The weather department has said that the cyclone could cause major damage to the huts, thatched houses, power and communication lines and to the coastal crops. Appropriate steps are being taken to make sure that there is no disruption of power supply at the time when the state is tackling the deadly pandemic and have thousands of patients in various hospitals undergoing treatment, said NDRF, yesterday.
The tropical storm is expected to hit Mumbai just days after Cyclone Amphan took lives of 99 people in West Bengal and impacted lakhs of people in the state. During the monthly radio address “Mann Ki Baat”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The people of those states have shown remarkable courage,” and added that “India stands with Odisha and West Bengal”.
