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70 killed in Gujarat cyclone

A cyclone with wind speed reaching 150 to 200 kilometres per hour swept through coastal Saurashtra, killing nearly 70 people, injuring hundreds and immobilising life in many parts of Gujarat.

The most severe storm to hit India's west coast in a quarter century, it left a trail of destruction, snapping power and telecommunication links, uprooting trees and levelling kutcha houses.

The civil authorities, with help from armed forces, are struggling to rescue trapped people and provide succour to the injured.

Reports said 25 people died in Jamnagar, 18 in Kutch, nine in Porbandar, and four each in Junagadh and Valsad.

Many fishermen in Junagadh district and salt workers in Kutch are feared to have been washed away at high tide. A dozen others are believed to be trapped in Rajkot, Kutch and Jamnagar districts, under collapsed houses.

Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel called an emergency cabinet meeting to take stock of the situation. Senior ministers are being despatched to affected areas to oversee rescue and relief work, he told reporters later.

Patel said nine people were killed in Porbandar when a microwave tower fell on them. Three people died in Manawadar when a wall caved in. A fisherman's body was recovered from the seashore near Kodinar in Junagarh district. Four of his associates are reported missing.

Porbandar and Jamnagar remain cut off as highways have been closed and telecommunication links down.

In Jamnagar, about 10,000 people were evacuated to safer places. The same number were moved from two fishing villages in Kalyanpur and Harsiddhi talukas near Dwarka.

Two ships -- one from Norway and another from South America -- ran aground at Veraval port. The crew were rescued by port authorities.

Many areas in the state remain without power as supply has been cut in 90-odd substations to minimise accidents due to electrocution.

Patel said the cyclone had the maximum impact in Veraval, Porbandar and Jamnagar. Its intensity waned as it moved northward to Kutch, and then eastward towards Surendranagar and Banaskantha.

In Gandhidham, Bhachau and Rapar, the wind speed had recorded 100 kmph on Monday afternoon.

Besides marshalling the state's civil administration, the armed forces have been put on alert in Junagarh, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Nandiad. Indian air force units have also been alerted.

The state government has ordered the extension of summer vacation in the primary schools of Junagadh, Porbandar and Jamnagar by a week, an official release said.

The storm originated three days ago at a distance of 420 km from the Gujarat coast. It reached 350 km southwest of Veraval on Monday afternoon, and moved towards north and northwest.

All ports along the Gujarat coast were using number ten reflectors, which signals the greatest danger to ships and boats.

The met office said the cyclone is now moving in a north north-easterly direction, towards south Rajasthan. In Bombay, the weather office has predicted thundershowers accompanied by squalls in the next 24 hours. Strong winds reaching speeds of 65 kmph are likely along the the Maharashtra-Goa coast.

UNI

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