New Delhi (NVI): Cyclone Nisarga, which intensified into a severe cyclonic storm this morning, has made landfall in Alibaug, a coastal town in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, about 100 km from Mumbai at a wind speed of 110 kmph, gusting up to 120 kmph.
The storm will gradually enter Mumbai and Thane districts during the next three hours, according to IMD. Mumbai is already on alert as it braces for the first such cyclonic storm in over 100 years.
THE CENTER OF NISARGA MOVED NORTHEASTWARDS AND CROSSED MAHARASHTRA COAST CLOSE TO SOUTH OF ALIBAGH & LAY CENTERED AT 1330 HRS IST OF 03 JUNE 2020 OVER COASTAL MAHARASHTRA NEAR LAT. 18.4°N AND LONG. 73.0°E CLOSE TO SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF ALIBAGH AND 80 KM SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF MUMBAI.
— India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) June 3, 2020
At least 1,00,000 people, including some coronavirus patients, were being moved to safer locations in Mumbai.
As per the latest update, the cyclone lay centered at 2:30 pm over coastal Maharashtra. Meanwhile, flight operations have been suspended at Mumbai airport till 7 PM.
Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray, has appealed to the people in the state to stay indoors.
Furthermore, the movement of people in Mumbai near the coastline has been banned till Thursday evening, Mumbai Police said.
Notably, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have been put on high alert as some parts of these two states and the Union Territories fall in the path of the cyclone.
About 41 NDRF teams are deployed in the two states, of which 21 are in Maharashtra and 16 are deployed in Gujarat.
In addition to this, Goa, about 580 km from Mumbai, also witnessed heavy rains this morning. It is pertinent to mention here that Maharashtra and Gujarat are also the two worst-affected states by Covid-19 in the country.
This is the second cyclone to strike India in two weeks. Last month, Cyclone Amphan had wreaked havoc in West Bengal and leaving behind a trail of destruction in the two states.
