Supply chain in and out of India and around the sub-continent could be severely disrupted by Cyclone Biparjoy, one of the strongest weather systems moving in over the Arabian Sea on record.
Associated Press (AP) has reported that India’s western states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and other coastal regions are on alert after meteorologists warned that the storm is intensifying.
Altogether 13 ports in the north-western province of Gujurat could be lashed by the storm, including Kandla, one of the region’s main ports.
Further south, authorities at Navi Mumbai and Jawahar Lal Nehru Port are also battening down the hatches.
At least 17 ports, spread through the three provinces, could have operations disrupted by Biparjoy.
Authorities have told fishing communities to halt operations for the next five days in the eastern and central Arabian Sea, and along the Indian Saurashtra and Kutch region, ahead of Biparjoy’s arrival along the western and south-western coastline of India.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), which categorised Biparjoy as a "very severe storm", said that the weather system west-southwest off the financial capital Mumbai, “is very likely to intensify further and move north-northeast wards.”
The IMD warned of heavy rainfall at isolated places in the state of Kerala and the coastal Karnataka region
In Gujarat, the 13 coastal districts of South Gujarat, Saurashtra peninsula and Kutch have been put on alert.
"We are fully prepared to deal with any situation," Kamal Dayani, additional chief secretary in the state revenue department, told Reuters.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the districts likely to be affected by the storm.
Unstable structures, such as hoardings, have been removed and the electricity department is on standby for power supply disruptions.
In the latest update at 9:40 CAT on 3 June, Biparjoy was 460 kilometres south-west of Gujurat, and had developed into an “Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm” or ESCS with wind speeds of up to 170 kilometres per hour, and gusting at up to 190 kph at times.
Only once before had a stronger storm developed over the Arabian Sea.
