Cyclone Phyan intensifies:Mumbai on alert

A cyclonic storm, which is being called Phyan by the Met office, has developed over the Arabian Sea off the north Maharashtra and

south Gujarat coasts. It’s likely to hit Mumbai as well as inland Maharashtra on Wednesday.

But the Met office says the cyclone may not hit Mumbai directly, though it will bring heavy to very heavy rainfall.

The wind speed of Cyclone Phyan is said to be 70 to 80 km per hour, which is much less than Cyclone Aila that had hit the Bengal

coast in May this year.

The cyclone, which started as a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal off the Kerala coast on Monday, moved northwards towards

Konkan coast and intensified into a cyclonic storm on Tuesday.

The system is also expected to cause widespread rainfall across Goa, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh

The cyclone is at danger level 6; Met department has advised people in low-lying areas to vacate. Rough weather is expected in

Mumbai in the afternoon. Ports will have to reduce activities and take safety measure

Surat, in Gujarat, is in the eye of the storm, but Mumbaikars are already feeling the impact of the cyclone. It’s constantly raining in

Mumbai. The city has received a total rainfall of 39mm till 5.30 am on Wednesday. Strong winds may commence anytime soon along

the coast of north Maharashtra. This is for the first time Mumbai is facing untimely rains of this intensity.