A deep depression over the east-central Arabian Sea, which intensified into cyclone Nisarga on Tuesday, is expected to make landfall near Alibaug in Maharashtra on Wednesday. Alibaug is about 94 kilometre from Mumbai.
Nisarga will hit as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100 to 110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph.
It is currently situated 200 kilometres away from Mumbai, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday morning. It also said that heavy rainfall is expected over coastal Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat in the next few hours.
Here are the latest developments on Cyclone Nisarga:
1) 13,541 people evacuated in Raigad
A total of 13,541 evacuated in Raigad. 390 people people have been shifted to a relief camp setup at a school in Alibaug, in view of the Cyclone Nisarga that will cross Maharashtra coast between Harihareshwar and Daman, very close to Alibaug between 1 pm to 4 pm today.
2) 40,000 people evacuated across Maharashtra
Around 40,000 people have been evacuated to safer places till now from various locations (sea belt areas) of Maharashtra: Anup Shrivastava, Commandant NDRF. About 20 teams of the NDRF have been deployed across Maharashtra, which will be impacted by Cyclone Nisarga.
Also Read – IMD issues Orange alert, says extremely heavy rain likely in 6 states
3) BMC arranges 35 schools as temporary shelters
BMC has arranged about 35 schools as temporary shelters for citizens, who have been appealed to relocate there.
4) Mumbai Fire Brigade on alert, 93 lifeguards deployed at beaches
Mumbai Fire Brigade has been directed to stay alert to respond immediately in case of emergencies. 93 lifeguards have been deployed at 6 beaches. 8 units of National Disaster Response Force and 5 units of Navy have been deployed at various locations in the city. NDRF has 1 team each in Colaba (Ward A), Worli (G/South), Bandra (H/East), Malad (P/South) & Borivali (R/North) & 3 teams in Andheri (K/West), says Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
5) Wind speed of 75 kmph at Konkan coast, to intensify into 110 kmph
Met Dept Update: Gale wind reaching 65-75 kmph speed gusting upto 85 kmph along and off the Konkan coast. It will become 100-110 kmph gusting upto 120 kmph in the afternoon at the time of landfall.
6) Cyclone Nisarga now 95 km from Alibag, 150 away from Mumbai
Met Dept update: Severe Cyclonic Storm Nisarga lay centred at 10:30 am over Eastcentral Arabian Sea at Latitude 17.8°N and Longitude 72.65°E, which is about 95 km south-southwest of Alibag and 150 km south-southwest of Mumbai. 380 km south-southwest of Surat in Gujarat.
7) NDRF and BMC evacute locals around Versova beach
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams along with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), evacuates local residents near the seashore in Versova ahead of the cyclone hitting Mumbai.
8) 43,000 people evacuated in Gujarat coastal districts
Gujarat has evacuated nearly 43,000 people living near the coastline in Valsad and Navsari districts to safer places ahead of the landfall of Cyclone Nisarga. As many as 13 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and six teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed at different locations in Gujarat.
9) IMD tracks movement on cyclone over Arabian Sea
Cyclone Nisarga is fast approaching Alibag with 110 kmph wind speed. Heavy rains lash Mumbai and Maharashtra coasts ahead of the cyclone’s landfall after 1 pm.
10) Cyclone now 115 km from Alibag, 165 km from Mumbai
Met Dept update: Severe Cyclonic Storm Nisarga lay centred at 09:30 am over Eastcentral Arabian Sea at Latitude 17.65°N and Longitude 72.5°E, which is about 115 km south-southwest of Alibag and 165 km south-southwest of Mumbai. 395 km south-southwest of Surat in Gujarat.
11) Strong winds expected in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad: IMD official
“Cyclone Nisarga will cross Maharashtra coast between Harihareshwar and Daman, very close to Alibag between 1 pm to 4 pm. While crossing the coast it will have strong winds of 100-120 kmph over Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts of Maharashtra,” says Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, DGM, IMD. Heavy rains and high tides witnessed in Mumbai.
12) High waves, strong winds in Mumbai beaches
High waves and strong winds seen in Mumbai beaches ahead of the landfall of Cyclone Nisarga.
13) NDRF personnel at Surat beach
NDRF has deployed personnel at Suvali beach in Surat to conduct rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of Cyclone Nisarga.
4) Cyclone 140 kms from Alibaug, landfall after 1 pm
Mumbai IMD head KS Hosalikar says, “Cyclone Nisarga is around 140 kms from Alibaug and 190 kms away from Mumbai. As per IMD, the cyclonic storm should make landfall between 1 to 3 pm today with 100 to 110 kmph wind speed.”
15) Cyclone landfall between 1-3 pm in Alibaug
Cyclone Nisarga is expected to make landfall around 1 to 3 pm on Alibaug coast in north Maharashtra, says IMD scientist. The cyclone is fast approaching the north Maharashtra coast at 13 kmph speed. The wind speed of the cyclone is around 100 kmph currently and is expected to further intensify upto 110 kmph gusting at 120 kmph.
16) List of trains being diverted by Central Railway
The LTT-Gorakhpur Special will depart at 8 pm instead of 11.10 am, LTT-Thiruvananthapuram Special at 6 pm instead of 11.40 am, and LTT-Darbhanga Special at 8.30 pm instead of 12.15 pm. Besides, the LTT-Varanasi Special will depart at 9 pm instead of 12.40 pm, and CSMT-Bhubaneswar Special will depart from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) here at 8 pm instead of 3.05 pm. The Patna-LTT Special scheduled to arrive at 11.30 am, and Varanasi-CSMT Special scheduled to arrive at 2.15 pm on Wednesday will be regulated enroute and arrive behind schedule, the Central Railway has said.
17) Central Railways reschedules trains, special trains diverted
The Central Railway has rescheduled, diverted and regulated some trains from Mumbai in view of the cyclonic storm Nisarga which is set to make a landfall at Alibaug this afternoon. Five special Trains departing from Mumbai have been rescheduled and three special trains will be either diverted or regulated enroute, the Central Railway (CR) said today morning.
18) Flight operations affected, Mumbai to operate 19 flights today
In view of the oncoming severe cyclonic storm Cyclone Nisarga, flight operations in Mumbai has been affected. The Mumbai Airport will operate only 19 flights today after cutting down from its daily operation of 50 flights in the eased lockdown. Mumbai airport authorities have said all safety measures are in place for the flight operations in this turbulent weather.
19) Wind picking up speed in Ratnagiri, 75 kmph along Konkan coast
Met Dept news update: Wind is picking up speed along the coast. Ratnagiri recorded 55 kmph at 08:30 am. Squally wind reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph prevails along and off Konkan coast. It will gradually increase to 100-110 kmph gusting at 120 kmph in the afternoon during landfall time.