Cyclone Shakhti Live Updates: Maharashtra on heavy rain alert; IMD says impact on Gujarat minimal

Cyclone Shakhti, the first cyclonic storm of the post-monsoon season in the Arabian Sea, is churning up the sea, packing a wind speed of 100 kmph and gusting, officials said on Saturday.

Shakhti, which has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, was moving further into the Arabian Sea and lay centred about 420 km away from Dwarka in Gujarat, the weather office said.

The weather office has warned that sea conditions are very likely to be rough to very rough along and off the Gujarat-north Maharashtra coast and Pakistan coast till Sunday.

Cyclone Shakhti, the first cyclonic storm of the post-monsoon season in the Arabian Sea, is churning up the sea, packing a wind speed of 100 kmph and gusting, officials said on Saturday.

Abhimanyu Chauhan from IMD, Ahmedabad has predicted the weather in Gujarat due to Cyclone Shakthi.
"Cyclone Shakthi will recurve on October 6 morning moving towards East-Northeast direction. However, there is no need to panic as the impact over Gujarat will be minimal. On October 8, there will be heavy rainfall in some parts of Gujarat - Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Daman, and Dadra Nagar Haveli," he told the media.

According to the release by the India Meteorological Department, the alert covers Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg. The wind speed, which is expected to reach 45-55 kmph, is likely to prevail over the North Maharashtra coast between October 3 and 5

Several areas in interior Maharashtra are under alert for heavy to very heavy rains, particularly parts of Marathwada and East Vidarbha. In view of this, the state government has instructed for preparations in response to the Cyclone ‘Shakhti’ warning.

The Maharashtra govt has directed the district administrations to activate their disaster management systems, prepare evacuation plans for citizens in coastal and low-lying areas, issue public advisories, advise against sea travel, and maintain safety during heavy rains.

The severe cyclonic storm ‘Shakhti’ was named by Sri Lanka, according to the convention followed by the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, PTI reported. The names of the cyclones are suggested by 13 countries in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea region.

The sea conditions will be rough to very rough along and off the Gujarat-North Maharashtra coast and the Pakistan coast until Sunday, owing to the influence of Cyclone ‘Shakhti’.

Cyclone ‘Shakhti’ is likely to move west-southwestwards to reach the northwest and adjoining west-central Arabian Sea by Sunday, the IMD said. It added that the cyclonic storm would then recurve and move east-northeastwards from Monday morning, and would gradually weaken.

In view of rough conditions, the weather office has warned fishermen against venturing into the northwest Arabian Sea, adjoining areas of the northeast Arabian Sea, central Arabian Sea and along and off the Gujarat-north Maharashtra coasts until Tuesday, PTI reported.

As of Saturday morning, Cyclone ‘Shakhti’ had intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and was moving further into the Arabian Sea. It lay centred about 420 km away from Dwarka in Gujarat, according to the weather office.