Severe storm Cyclone Biparjoy is less than 300 kilometres off Gujarat's coast and is expected to make landfall on Thursday in the late afternoon. State officials and disaster management organisations are working around-the-clock to guarantee that residents of sensitive locations are timely and safely evacuated.
Although Cyclone Biparjoy is predicted to hit Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan may also be affected by the storm's effects.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Biparjoy is predicted to make landfall on Thursday afternoon between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan with a maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 km/h and gusts up to 150 km/h.
The fishing communities in Gujarat's Saurashtra and Kutch regions have been warned by the weather office to stop their operations and evacuate their residents.