Railways Cancel 70 Trains as Cyclone Vayu moves Towards Gujarat

Thursday, June 13, 2019

The railways cancelled 70 trains in Gujarat and partially cancelled another 28 as Cyclone Vayu inches closer to the state’s coastline. The cancellation of the trains came into effect from Wednesday evening at 6 pm for two days for the areas which will be affected by Cyclone Vayu.

Special trains will instead run from these areas, according to a statement tweeted by the Indian Railways. Cyclone Vayu, which intensified into a severe cyclonic Tuesday, is expected to hit the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva around Veraval and Diu region.

Nearly three lakh people are being evacuated starting today as Cyclone Vayu is set to make landfall. They will be shifted to around 700 cyclone and relief shelters. Gujarat’s Gandhidham, Bhavnagar Para, Porbandar, Veravar and Okha will likely be the areas which will feel the most significant impact as the cyclone enters land.

The entire coastline has been on high alert since yesterday, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani told reporters. Schools and colleges along the entire coastline will remain closed till Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted to say the central government was “closely monitoring the situation” and said that he was “constantly in touch with state governments” to review the situation.

The effect of Cyclone Vayu will also be felt in Mumbai as well as Goa, which the weather department said will witness heavy rain.

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