After Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall in coastal areas of the state on Thursday evening, heavy rains and gusty winds at speeds of over 115-120 kilometres per hour wreaked havoc in Gujarat’s Morbi district, damaging over 300 electric poles and causing power outages in around 45 villages.
Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL) officials said efforts are underway to restore power to nine of the affected villages.
“Strong winds broke electric wires and poles, causing a power outage in 45 villages of Maliya tehsil. We are restoring power in 9 villages and power has been restored in the remaining villages,” PGVCL’s executive engineer, Morbi, JC Goswami told ANI.
As per the officials, two power stations in the Maliya Taluka of Morbi have been shut down due to the cyclonic storm. “In the coastal and desert regions, more than 300 electric poles have been damaged,” they said.
As the cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ made landfall in Gujarat’s coastal areas earlier Thursday evening, at least 22 people were injured and electric poles and trees were uprooted.
In addition, 23 animals were killed, and heavy rains and gusty winds brought down over 524 trees and electric poles in various parts of Gujarat, cutting off power to around 940 villages, according to officials.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey stated that flash floods and intermittent rainfall are possible across Gujarat, with heavy rainfall.
“The eye of the storm is currently near the Pakistan-Kutch border. The wind had an average speed of 78 kmph. There are chances of power outages. As per IMD’s forecast, the storm will reach southern Rajasthan tomorrow”.
“People have been alerted in the low-lying areas. There are chances of flash floods. Intermittent rainfall is expected across Gujarat with heavy rainfall near the storm epicentre,” he added.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated in the early hours of Friday that cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ is expected to weaken further by Friday morning and enter a ‘depression’ the following evening.
