Cyclone Biparjoy: 37,800 people evacuated from coastal areas in Gujarat

As Cyclone Biparjoy barrels towards the Kutch coast in Gujarat, the government said they have so far evacuated nearly 37,800 people living near the sea in eight districts of the state.

The powerful cyclone will make landfall near Jakhau port on the evening of June 15, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).

VSCS (very severe cyclonic storm) BIPARJOY over Arabian sea moved north northwestward and lay centered at 2.30 IST of 14th June, about 280 km WSW of Jakhau port. To cross near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by evening of 15th June as VSCS, IMD said in the latest post.

The Gujarat government said in a release that they have so far evacuated 37,794 people living along the coastline.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the state government's emergency operations centre on Tuesday night for a review of the preparedness, it said.

The cyclone has extensive damaging potential and is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts the most, IMD has said.

The stat