NEW DELHI, June 16: Two persons were killed and about two dozens injured in cyclone related destructions in coastal areas of Gujarat on Friday even as “Biparjoy” after making landfall near Jakhau port in Kutch district on Thursday night moved towards south Rajasthan sparing most parts of Gujarat from heavy damages.
The cyclone began weakening several hours after making landfall and is expected to weaken further into a deep depression even while causing heavy rainfall in various parts of Rajasthan. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General Atul Karwal, however, claimed that no lives were lost after Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall in Gujarat.
Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall near the Jakhau Port in Gujarat last evening with wind speeds between 125 kmph and 140 kmph. Heavy rain coupled with strong winds brought down over 524 trees and electric poles at various places in Gujarat, snapping power supply to nearly 1,000 villages.
A NDRF team evacuated 127 people from a school in Gujarat district on Friday after water levels began rising there because of heavy rain due to Cyclone Biparjoy. Videos from the site show NDRF personnel wading through knee-deep water carrying infants wrapped in clothes and even an empty cement bag to shield them from the rain.
People from areas close to the coast had been given shelter in Rupan Bandar School in Devbhumi Dwarka district, but when the area around it began getting waterlogged, a decision was taken to shift them to another school nearby.
In a video, an NDRF personnel can be seen carrying an infant out of the school wrapped in an empty cement bag to protect it from the pouring rain. The rescuer carries the infant through knee-deep water and hands it over to a family member waiting in an area where the water level is lower.
The video also shows NDRF personnel holding the hands of older children to help them through the waterlogged area. They are also seen carrying out the belongings of families taking shelter at the school. A total of 82 men, 27 women, 15 children and three nursing staff were shifted out of the school.
(Manas Dasgupta)
