Cyclone Vayu won’t hit Gujarat, coastal areas likely to witness heavy rain, winds.

Gujarat: The Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Vayu which was expected to make a landfall in Gujarat on Thursday afternoon will not directly hit the state but is likely to affect the coastal areas, the IMD said. It is very likely to move along Saurashtra coast affecting Amreli, Gir Somnath, Diu, Junagarh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Kutch districts of Gujarat with wind speed 155-165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph on Thursday.

Over 3.1 lakh people were on Wednesday evacuated from low-lying areas in Gujarat and Diu ahead of the scheduled landfall of Cyclone Vayu. Indian Coast Guard, Navy, Army and Air Force units have also been put on standby. Aircraft and helicopters are carrying out aerial surveillance

Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, said that although the IMD has informed that the cyclone has changed its course, “it may still cause heavy winds and rains, and so we are still on stand-by mode”.

Clyscone Vayu, which was expected to make a landfall in Gujarat on Thursday afternoon will not directly hit the state but is likely to affect the coastal areas, the IMD said. Manorama Mohanty, scientist at Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in Ahmedabad said: “CycloneVayu won’t hit Gujarat. It will pass nearby from Veraval, Porbandar, Dwarka. Its effect will be seen on the coastal regions as there will be heavy wind speed and heavy rain as well.”

Western Railway has cancelled seven more trains and short terminated and partially cancellated another five trains, as a precautionary measure. A total of 110 trains of Western Railways have been affected.

Food packets are being prepared by various groups in Rajkot which will be dispatched to the cyclone-affected areas of the state. Meanwhile, the Kokan region has been shut for the public.

The shed at the entrance of Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district has been damaged due to strong winds.

The India Meteorological Department has said that the sea condition is phenomenal near Gujarat coast and is likely to be very rough to high along and off Maharashtra coast on Thursday.

Widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy falls at few places and extremely heavy falls at isolated places are likely in Saurashtra and Kutch today. Gale wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph is also very likely over Gujarat coast till Thursday evening before it gradually decreases thereafter. The heavy winds are also likely to impact Maharashtra coasts.

In the wake of Cyclone Vayu, flight services to five airports in Gujarat will be suspended from midnight on Wednesday. Accordingly, services to airports in Porbandar, Diu, Bhavnagar, Keshod and Kandla were ceased from Wednesday midnight to midnight on Thursday.

Western Railway has also cancelled the operation of 70 mainline trains, while 28 other mainline trains will be short terminated with partial cancellation as a precautionary measure in the cyclone-prone areas. “Various safety and security precautions are also being taken by Western Railway for train passengers of these cyclone prone areas under the jurisdiction of Western Railways i.e. Veraval, Okha, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Gandhidham, etc,” Western Railway said in a press release.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday advised people to follow real-time information being given by local agencies to stay safe. “Praying for safety and well-being of all those affected by Cyclone Vayu. The government and local agencies are providing real-time information, which I urge those in affected areas to closely follow,” Modi tweeted.