Cyclone Vayu begins skirting Saurashtra coast; alert continues

Bringing relief for Gujarat, Cyclone Vayu Thursday began moving away from the state coast, even as the danger of heavy winds and rainfall continued, officials said here.

State authorities have already evacuated three lakh people from low-lying areas near the coast to safer places, an official said.

Heavy rains which lashed the coastal areas were likely to continue, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

"The cyclone is likely to move north-northwestwards for some time and then northwestwards, skirting the Saurashtra coast (and) affecting Gir Somnath, Diu, Junagarh, Porbandar and Devbhoomi Dwarka with wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph during the next 12 hours," the IMD said in a release issued at 5 pm Thursday.

Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, said earlier that though the IMD has informed that the cyclone has changed its course, "it may still cause heavy winds and rains, and so we are still on stand-by mode".

The cyclone is 110 km from ...