Over 18,000 moved to safer areas as Cyclone Asna forms off Gujarat coast

A deep depression that unleashed torrential rains and widespread flooding in Gujarat on Friday has intensified into Cyclone Asna, now swirling off the coast of Kachchh and neighbouring regions of Pakistan, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The cyclonic weather system, located along the Kachchh coast and extending into Pakistan and the northeast Arabian Sea, has been advancing westward at a speed of 6 kmph over the past six hours. It has now evolved into Cyclonic Storm Asna (pronounced as As-Na), centered at 1130 hours in the same region, approximately 190 km west-northwest of Bhuj in Gujarat, news agency PTI reported.

The storm is expected to continue its west-northwestward trajectory across the northeast Arabian Sea, moving away from the Indian coast over the next two days, according to the weather department.

In Gujarat, rain-related incidents have claimed 32 lives over the past four days. Over 18,000 people have been evacuated, and approximately 1,200 have been rescued from flood-stricken areas across the state.

According to the details shared by the Gujarat government, at least one person died in Aravalli, Dwarka,



Panchmahal, Dang, Bharuch, Morbi, and Vadodara, six people died in Anand, five people died in Ahmedabad, three people died in Mahisagar and Jamnagar, two people died in Gandhinagar, Kheda, Mahisagar, Dahod and Surendranagar districts, PTI report stated.

Vadodara, the city hardest hit by the recent deluge, witnessed some respite as the water level in the Vishwamitri River receded from 37 feet to 32 feet on Friday morning. Nevertheless, many low-lying areas remain submerged.

Over 32,000 individuals have been relocated, with approximately 1,200 people rescued from flood-stricken areas. In some cases, security forces deployed helicopters to evacuate residents to safer locations.

As a precautionary step, Kutch district collector Amit Arora has urged residents of Abdasa, Mandvi, and Lakhpat talukas to vacate their huts and makeshift homes. He has advised them to seek shelter in schools or other stable buildings as a powerful storm approaches.

Coastal Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra are likely to see widespread light to moderate rainfall throughout this period. On August 30, isolated instances of extremely heavy rainfall are likely over Coastal Karnataka.