Nine days after its formation, Cyclone Biparjoy finally made its landfall along the Gujarat coast today, June 15, at 7 pm. India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the process of the landfall will take about 3-4 hours to complete.

The `very severe' cyclonic storm Biparjoy is centered over north Arabian Sea but it is coming closer to the Saurashtra coast with a wind speed of 115-125 kmph, gusting to 140 kmph, it said in a statement.

It was earlier reported that the cyclone would make its landfall near the Jakhau Port in Kutch, Gujarat, while Pakistan's climate energy minister Sherry Rehman had said it would hit Keti Bandar in Sindh at 11am.

On June 6, a deep depression which formed in the Arabian Sea, intensified into the cyclone Biparjoy, positioned west-southwestwards of the states on the Indian coast - Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Two days later, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the 'very severe' cyclonic storm would intensify further, which it reiterated the next day as well..

The cyclone, which lasted nine days, is said to have had the longest-ever lifespan recorded in the Arabian Sea. It had first been moving in a north-northwest direction, and it later changed its direction, moving in a north-northeast direction.

Sea conditions continued to roughen as the day progressed and the cyclone charged towards the land.

A Kutch collector in Gujarat Amit Arora said more than 46,000 people have been evacuated and shifted to shelter homes and over 20,000 animals were taken to safer places.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army deployed over 27 relief columns in Gujarat and in the forward locations of Dwarka and Mandvi.

The IMD had issued a red message cyclone warning for Kutch and Saurashtra, warning of flooding and power disruption. The Western Railways also cancelled 69 trains and short-terminated/short-orignated 55 others due to the cyclone. Passenger trains were also barred from operating on the Saurashtra-Kutch region.

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(Edited by : Pradeep John)