India

Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra brace for Cyclone Nisarga; landfall on June 3

'Nisarga' is the first cyclone in the Arabian Sea in 2020

Credit : IMD

With Cyclone Nisarga ready to hit Mumbai on Wednesday, June 3, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Council (BMC) has appealed to the Mumbaikars to stay safe. The Municipal Corporation has also begun bracing itself for the cyclonic storm, which is the first cyclone in the Arabian Sea in 2020.

 

North-Maharashtra and south-Gujarat coasts on alert

“An alert has been issued for Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts,” said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in a tweet on Tuesday.

As per the India Meteorology Department (IMD), “The cyclone will cross north Maharashtra and adjoining south Gujarat coast between Harihareshwar and Daman, close to Alibag (Raigad)  during the afternoon of June 3, as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph. The Sea condition is very likely to be very rough to High over the northeast Arabian Sea along & off south Gujarat coast on June 3.”

With respect to these conditions, Thackeray has also mentioned in his tweet that the fishermen have been called back from the sea, and the coast guards have been notified to not allow any activities.

“Care is being taken to prevent power outages and precautions are being followed in chemical industries and the nuclear power plant in Palghar and Raigad. The slum dwellers in the Mumbai metropolitan area, especially the low-lying areas, have been asked to evacuate,” the Chief Minister wrote.

 

 

BMC has also instructed all the 24 ward offices to identify the risky areas, and evacuate the citizens there. Apart from the fishermen, others have also been instructed to stay away from the coastal area, and stay indoors during the time when the storm hits the city, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh stated.

Out of the 16 units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 10 have been deployed for rescue operations during the cyclone.

The IMD has predicted damage to thatched houses/huts, power and communication lines, roads, along with flooding of escape routes, breaking of tree branches, uprooting of large avenue trees. The cyclonic storm will also cause major damage to coastal crops and embankments/ salt pans.

However, this cyclone would be weaker than the Cyclone Amphan that hit West Bengal and Odisha last week, from which the states are still recovering.

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