The landfall process is relatively slower and will continue till midnight, according to IMD director general, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra
Photo: IMD_ Cyclone Biporjoy’s landfall process commenced at 6.30 pm over the coastal districts of Saurashtra and Kutch and will be completed by midnight, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).
“The landfall process is relatively slower. It will continue till midnight,” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, IMD director general of meteorology, said in a press briefing.
As this is the most dangerous part of the cyclone, he advised people to stay indoors.
Biporjoy is moving at a speed of 15 kilometres per hour (kmph) and is likely to hit the coast between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau port in Gujarat.
The cyclone is maintaining speed for the last 12 hours, Vineet Kumar Singh, research scientist at Typhoon Research Center, Jeju National University, said. There is no intensification, he added.
The cyclone is currently 70 km away from Jakhau port and 240 km south-southeast of Karachi. “Strong winds of 60-80 kmph are prevailing over Saurashtra and Kutch districts,” Mohapatra said. The wind speeds will gradually reach 115-125 kmph gusting to 140 kmph.
So far, Dwaraka, Okha, Naliya, Bhuj, Porbandar and Kandla have received 28 mm, 20 mm, 32 mm, 62mm, 28 mm and 30 mm rainfall, respectively. Mohapatra said heavy rainfall will continue and extremely heavy rainfall can be expected.
Jason Nicholls, senior meteorologist and manager of international forecasting at AccuWeather said up to 51 cm of rain can be expected. Some rain could reach Delhi on June 19, he wrote on Twitter.
There is also a risk of inundation of low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch during the time of landfall.
According to European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, as visualised by Windy, the cyclone will make landfall near the Gujarat-Pakistan border on June 15 and move to Pakistan on June 16 and then to Rajasthan on June 17.
Meanwhile, India is looking at a 51 per cent deficit in rainfall as of June 15. The southwest monsoon commenced on June 8, seven days late.
Rainfall status in East and Northeast India showed a 48 per cent departure from normal in June. In the Northwest, Central and south peninsula, the deficit was 20 per cent, 73 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively.
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