Ahmedabad: The Gujarat administration is on high alert to deal with cyclone 'Vayu', which is likely to hit the state coast near Veraval on Thursday, officials said.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Tuesday said people living in the coastal belt would be shifted to safer places.
As per the latest weather report, the cyclonic storm Vayu is located around 630 km south of Veraval coast and is "very likely to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm" in next 12 hours and hit the state coast on June 13.
According to officials, the cyclone is likely to affect Kutch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Devbhoomi-Dwarka, Porbandar, Rajkot, Amreli, Bhavnagar and Gir-Somnath districts.
Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar that the entire coastline, starting from Kutch to south Gujarat, has been put on "high alert".
The officials concerned are in touch with the Odisha government to learn and implement the disaster management techniques adopted by them when cyclone Fani hit the eastern coastal state recently, he said.
"We have cancelled leaves of all the employees concerned and asked them to join the duty. After the Cabinet meet tomorrow, all the ministers will go to various districts to oversee relief and rescue operations," he said.
"June 13 and 14 are crucial for us. We have roped-in the Army, NDRF, Coast Guard and other agencies for rescue and relief work. To minimise human casualty, we will start shifting people living in coastal areas to safer locations from tomorrow," he said.
After a review meet with district collectors and other officials, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Pankaj Kumar said schools, colleges and Anganwadis in coastal districts would remain shut on June 12 and 13.
"In all, 36 NDRF teams will be deployed for rescue operations. We have also roped in Army, Navy, Coast Guard and BSF units. If needed, we will also take help of Air Force.
We have ordered schools, colleges and Anganwadis in the districts which are likely to be hit by the cyclone to remain shut on June 12 and 13," Kumar said.
While the cyclone's impact will most likely be in Kutch and Saurashtra regions, two NDRF teams have also been deployed in south Gujarat to deal with any eventuality, Kumar informed.
