AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government has ordered the shutdown of schools and educational institutes in several parts of the state till June 15 in the wake of Cyclone Vayu.
Cyclone Vayu will hit the Gujarat coast on June 13 morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. A deep depression over the Arabian Sea, which has been brewing over the last two days intensified into a cyclonic storm Vayu, added the weather department. It will further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in the next 10 hours.
Cyclone is expected to touch Veraval and Diu regions, between Porbandar and Mahuva. The severe cyclonic storm with wind speed between 110-120 kmph to 135 kmph will hit early on Thursday morning. It is likely to cause heavy rainfall in the coastal areas of Gujarat such as Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Porbandar, Junagarh, Diu, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar.
Home Minister Amit Shah has been regularly reviewing the situation to review the preparedness of State and Central ministries and agencies. Several teams of state and National Disaster Relief Force have been posted in all coastal districts.
The cyclone is likely to disturb the advancement of Monsoon, which has already been delayed by a week.
Vayu is likely to result in heavy to very heavy showers all along India's western coastline with many parts here experiencing rough to very rough sea conditions. Fishermen in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat have been advised to exercise maximum caution before venturing into the sea.
