Nisarga to make landfall between 1pm-4pm near Mumbai

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday urged people from the state’s coastal belt to remain in safer places in view of the cyclonic storm Nisarga, which is likely to make landfall in the afternoon.

Pawar said people should not step outside home till the intensity of the storm fades.

People from Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts should remain in safer places, considering the landfall cyclonic storm Nisarga is set to make near Alibaug from Arabian Sea, a statement quoted Pawar as saying.

The administration is taking complete care to ensure there is no loss of life due to the cyclone, said Pawar, who is also the state’s finance minister

Lifeguards, police, fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in parts of the coastal areas, he said.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said 15 NDRF and four State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been deployed in parts of the coastal districts in view of the cyclone.

At 10.30am on Wednesday, Cyclone Nisarga was hovering over the Arabian Sea at about 150 km away from Mumbai. It is likely to make landfall at the Alibaug coastal town near the megapolis between 1pm and 4pm on Wednesday, a senior IMD official said.

Already battling a raging pandemic, Mumbai hasn’t experienced a serious cyclone landfall since 1891, according to a weather expert.