Boats anchored due to red alert for Cyclone nisarga in Ratnagiri district. (Credits: PTI)
NEW DELHI: Cyclone Nisarga is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm on Wednesday and could make a landfall near Alibaug in Raigad district of Maharashtra, as per India Meteorological Department (IMD). The cyclone is approaching the north coast of Maharashtra at a speed of 11 kilometres per hour and was about 250 km South-SouthWest of Mumbai at 02:30 am IST. Citizens have been advised to stay indoors.
Here are the latest developments:
Landfall expected near Alibaug today
IMD believes that Cyclone Nisarga is likely to make a landfall near Alibaug in Raigad district. As per the weather forecast agency, the cyclone is about 200 km South-SouthWest of Alibag. IMD further said that at 4:30 am the wind speed had increased to 22 kmph at Santacruz in Mumbai.
Weather monitors have warned of a storm surge of up to 2m above the astronomical tide, and of winds gusting at up to 120 kmph. As per some monitors, Cyclone Nisarga which is racing up the west coast, could make landfall between Harihareshwar, 200km south of Mumbai in Raigad district, and Daman, almost 200km north of Mumbai.
Red alert for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar
A red alert warning has been issued for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar for Wednesday. As many as 15 teams of NDRF and five SDRF have been deployed across districts in Maharashtra. An additional five NDRF teams are being airlifted from Vishakhapatnam. Four of them have been sent to Raigad, where the landfall will occur.
Maharashtra postpones Unlock 1.0 by two days
Due to the cyclone, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has postponed ‘Mission Begin Again’, the easing of the lockdown from June 3, by two days. Mumbai police has put public places along the coast like beaches, promenades, parks out of bounds of people under Section 144 of CrPC for 24 hours from Wednesday.
Mumbai airport to operate only 12 flights
As a precaution, Mumbai airport will operate only 12 arrival flights on Wednesday as against the 25 it has been handling on an average daily for the past week. City collector Rajiv Nivatkar said long-distance trains will be allowed to ply depending on the weather situation.
65,000 evacuated; several resist leaving
As many as 65,000 people from five districts were shifted to safer places and shelter homes on Tuesday. In Palghar district, 22 coastal villages likely to be hit by the cyclone have been identified, even as the fishing community is resisting evacuation. As the NDRF team went out surveying the villages and asking occupants of thatched homes to proceed to relief camps, many refused to leave. Villagers gathered in large numbers and insisted on staying back. In Satpati, the biggest fishing village of Maharashtra, locals refused evacuation. Following intervention by district authorities, some families were moved out and process to evacuate the rest was underway.
250 patients moved out of makeshift Covid centre at BKC
The jumbo Covid-19 care facility in Bandra-Kurla Complex, set up by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), was vacated on Tuesday following Cyclone Nisarga alerts. Nearly 250 patients, including 16 on oxygen support, were moved out of the facility. Most of them were shifted to NSCI Dome in Worli and some to Sion, KEM, RN Cooper and Nair hospitals. The Covid care centre had opened on May 25.
‘Carry sharp objects’
The state government instructed civic agencies to meticulously prepare for the possibility of floods in low-lying areas. The BMC, on its part, has directed motorists to carry sharp objects in case their vehicles get stuck in flooded areas. If a vehicle’s auto-lock malfunctions, the object could be used to break the window glass to escape. In the past, they said, citizens had suffocated and died in locked cars.
Life guards, firefighters on standby
At the six beaches of Girgaum, Dadar, Versova, Juhu, Aksa, and Gorai, life guards were positioned on Tuesday and a coordination drill between beach safety and flood response teams conducted. Mumbai fire brigade is shouldering the responsibility of beach safety in addition to its regular fire-fighting. The BMC also sent out a notice to construction sites to prevent accidents like dislodging of machinery cranes and scaffolding and the possibility of dislodged roofs that could harm life and property. MMRDA said cranes and piling rig masts have been lowered at all project sites.
Navy keeps 5 rescue teams on standby
Five rescue teams and three diving teams have been kept on standby by the Western Naval Command. The five rescue teams have been posted at its naval stations at south Mumbai, Worli, Malad, Ghatkopar and Mankhurd for rescue and relief of the affected populace. Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard has warned warning fishing boats not to venture into the sea.
