Cyclone (Phyan) to Hit West Coast (Mumbai) after 67 years

The Met department issued cyclone alert for the coastal areas of south Gujarat, northern Maharashtrra and some parts of Goa and Konkan region.

India’s western coast should start preparing itself for two days of rough weather and heavy rain as a cyclonic storm, called Phyan by the Met office is developing over the Arabian Sea off north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts.
At danger level 6, this cyclone is likely to hit Mumbai as well as inland Maharashtra on Wednesday bringing heavy to very heavy rainfall. The Met department has advised people in low-lying areas in Mumbai to vacate and ports to reduce activities and take safety measures.

According to the weather department in Mumbai, a tropical cyclone strengthened over the Arabian Sea off the western coast of country. The Met department has said that the cyclone will hit Mumbai early on Thursday.
Following the weather alert, the BMC has asked fishermen to avoid venturing into sea till Thursday.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall has been reported from Mumbai, Goa and Konkan region. As far as Mumbai weather is concerned, the financial capital of India has witnessed heavy rainfall since yesterday.
Met officials said that cyclone with winds strengthened to 75 kilometers per hour will hit the southern Gujarat, North Maharshtra, Karnataka and Goa.
The storm will hit Mumbai tomorrow around 5.30 hrs in the morning.
The cyclone over the Arabian Sea Wednesday was "likely to intensify further" and cross the Indian coast between north Maharashtra and south Gujarat in the early hours of Thursday, says the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Now named Phyan, the cyclone was about 250 km directly west of Goa at 2.30 a.m. Thursday, the IMD said on its website, even as it it issued an "orange" alert. That is one step below the red alert put out for a really severe cyclone.
At that hour, Phyan was 420 km south-southwest of Mumbai and 670 km south-southwest of Surat in south Gujarat.
"The system is likely to intensify further and move north-northeastwards and cross south Gujarat and north Maharashtra coast between Mahuva and Dahanu by early hours of Nov 12," the website reported.
Fishermen have already been asked not to go out to sea, and oil rigs in Bombay High were battening down, according to local media reports.
The IMD expects that maximum sustained surface wind speed under the influence of Cyclone Phyan will be 70-80 kmph around 11.30 p.m. Wednesday, gusting up to 90 kmph.
The weatherman said Wednesday morning that the cyclone will lead to "rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and isolated extremely heavy fall (over or equal to 25 cm) over Konkan and Goa and Madhya Maharashtra during next 36 hours".
"Rainfall at many places with heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places is likely over coastal Karnataka during next 24 hours. Rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and isolated extremely heavy falls (over or equal to 25 cm) is likely to commence over south Gujarat from today (Wednesday) afternoon.
"Squally winds with speed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph are likely along and off Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra coasts during next 36 hours. Sea condition will be very rough over along and off Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra coasts. Squally wind speed reaching 55-65 gusting to 75 kmph is likely to commence along and off south Gujarat coast from today afternoon."

"The system is likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm and move in a northerly direction for some more time and then north-northeastwards and cross south Gujarat and north Maharashtra coast between Mahuva and Dahanu by early hours of November 12," an alert issued by the India Meteorological Department said.

If the Indian Meteorological Department's cyclone forecast for today is true, it will be the city's first in 67 years.

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