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Reuters

India evacuated hundreds of thousands of people to shelters along the coast in its western state of Gujarat as a cyclone gathering intensity over the Arabian Sea was expected to hit land on Thursday.
Weather officials said Cyclone Vayu is set to cross the coast with sustained wind speeds of more than 145km and could gust as high as 170km/h.
The state government said evacuation efforts had begun, with about 300,000 people being moved from the most vulnerable areas into shelters.
“We have started evacuation in coastal districts [this] morning,” a Gujarat disaster management official said on Wednesday.

The state’s chief minister, Vijay Rupani, has asked India’s military and its National Disaster Response Force for help with rescue and relief efforts if the cyclone causes widespread damage and disruption.
The federal home minister, Amit Shah, also urged officials to ensure swift restoration of utilities such as power, telecoms and drinking water if they are disrupted by the cyclone.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned the cyclone could hold up the progress of annual monsoon rains, as the storm drew rain clouds from over the sea.
At least eight reported dead as Cyclone Fani pummels India
The monsoon was already about a week late in arriving at Kerala on the southern coast this year, and much of the country has baked in a summer heatwave in recent weeks.
According to IMD data, the “very severe cyclonic storm” is likely to make landfall between Porbandar and Diu along the Gujarat coast on Thursday morning.


Gujarat is home to large refineries and seaports near the storm’s path.
India’s biggest oil refinery, owned by Reliance Industries, is in Gujarat, though a company official said the cyclone was expected to weaken by the time it reached the Jamnagar-based refinery.
“But in case the course changes or intensifies, the refinery is ready for any contingency,” he added, declining to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Sikka Ports and Terminals Ltd, which handles crude oil and refined products for Reliance Industries, halted vessel berthing at a western port on Wednesday over a cyclone warning, according to a port notice.
Aftermath of Cyclone Fani: in pictures
The company’s ports also handle oil and refined products cargo for Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, a subsidiary of state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd is preparing to move employees at two ports it runs to safer areas, a spokesman said.
“Our Mundra and Tuna ports will be closest to the path,” he added. “All the necessary precautions are being put in place.”
Nayara Energy, owned by a consortium led by Russia’s Rosneft, said it was monitoring the situation and also taking precautionary measures at its Gujarat refinery.

Ten Chinese vessels have been allowed to stay at Ratnagiri port in Maharashtra on humanitarian grounds after they sought shelter to avoid being damaged in the cyclone – currently the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane – the Indian Coast Guard said. The vessels will be provided shelter with a security cordon.
In May, Cyclone Fani, the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane, killed at least 34 people on India’s eastern coast, destroying houses and ripping off roofs.
Authorities had evacuated more than 1.2 million people in advance of the storm and declared their efforts a success after an even more powerful cyclone in 1999 killed about 10,000 people and caused damage running into billions of dollars.
Additional reporting by Sreejith Sreedharan and Associated Press


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India

India braces for Cyclone Vayu with 300,000 people evacuated from western coastal state of Gujarat

A satellite image provided by the India Meteorological Department shows Cyclone Vayu crossing the Arabian Sea towards India. Photo: AP

In this photo released by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), NDRF soldiers help villagers to evacuate from Naliya village in the western state of Gujarat, India, Wednesday, June 12, 2019. Indian authorities were bracing Wednesday for a severe cyclone gathering strength in the Arabian Sea that was expected to make landfall in the western state of Gujarat as India's second major storm of the season. (NDRF via AP)

Personnel from India's 6th National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) check emergency and rescue material at a NDRF camp in Chiloda (also called Naroda), some 40 kms from Ahmedabad on June 11, 2019. - An intensified storm from the Arabian Sea is likely to strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm that is heading towards Gujarat state. As a way to face the now called cyclone 'Vayu' NDRF personnel are deployed to different coastal regions of the state. (Photo by SAM PANTHAKY / AFP)

Cyclonic Storm Fani is the biggest to hit India in 20 years, prompting evacuations of 800,000 people

Tropical Cyclone Fani intensifying in the Bay of Bengal. Photo: AFP

At least eight reported dead, more than a million evacuated as Cyclone Fani pummels India

An Indian resident sits on an electric rickshaw next to a damaged structure after Cyclone Fani landfall in Puri in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Friday. Photo: AFP

(190503) -- DHAKA, May 3, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on May 3, 2019 shows stranded passengers waiting in the departure area at Sadarghat terminal in Dhaka, Bangladesh, after ferry services were suspended due to cyclone Fani. Bangladesh has begun evacuating 2.5 million people as the extremely dangerous cyclone Fani is closing on the southern coast of the country. (Xinhua)

Indian residents ride a bike along a road after Cyclone Fani landfall in Puri in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on May 3, 2019. - Two people died on May 3 after Cyclone Fani slammed into eastern India, officials said, as the storm sent coconut trees flying, blew away food stands and cut off power and water. The monster weather system, which made landfall at the eastern holy city of Puri in the morning, is one of the strongest to come in off the Indian Ocean in years, with winds gusting at speeds of up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)

Debris and mud is seen along a street after Cyclone Fani landfall in Puri in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on May 3, 2019. - Two people died on May 3 after Cyclone Fani slammed into eastern India, officials said, as the storm sent coconut trees flying, blew away food stands and cut off power and water. The monster weather system, which made landfall at the eastern holy city of Puri in the morning, is one of the strongest to come in off the Indian Ocean in years, with winds gusting at speeds of up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)

Stranded passengers rest inside a railways station after trains between Kolkata and Odisha were cancelled ahead of Cyclone Fani, in Kolkata, India, May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

A partially flooded street after Cyclone Fani landfall in Puri in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Friday. Photo: AFP

Fears mount for stranded villages in India flood crisis as death toll hits 320

People are airlifted by the Indian Navy soldiers. Photo: Reuters

epa06954799 Ariel view of the flooded Kochi, Kerala state, India, 17 August 2018. According to reports, the region is on a high alert with schools and offices been closed due to the rising water levels of Periyar river after the gates of the Idukki reservoir were opened. The Indian state of Kerala has been hit by heavy rains that caused floods and reportedly killed at least 300 people. EPA-EFE/PRAKASH ELAMAKKARA

People salvage motorcycles in a country boat in a flooded area at Kainakary in Alappuzha district, Kerala state, India, Friday, Aug. 17, 2018. Rescuers used helicopters and boats on Friday to evacuate thousands of people stranded on their rooftops following unprecedented flooding in the southern Indian state of Kerala that killed more than 320 people in the past nine days, officials said. (AP Photo/Tibin Augustine)

This handout photograph released by India's Defence Ministry on August 18, 2018 shows an Indian man being winched up to an Indian Air Force helicopter as he is evacuated from a flood affected area in the southern state of Kerala. - Dozens of Indian military helicopters stepped up rescue operations in flood stricken Kerala state August 18 with pilots flying high-risk missions to rescue pregnant women and families from rooftops and isolate islands of land. (Photo by Handout / INDIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / INDIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS -

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It follows Cyclone Fani, the first major storm of the year, which killed at least 34 people on the country’s eastern coast last month
That time, more than 1.2 million people were evacuated in advance of the storm making landfall


It follows Cyclone Fani, the first major storm of the year, which killed at least 34 people on the country’s eastern coast last month, destroying houses and ripping off roofs.


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