India evacuates thousands as cyclone nears west coast

Wednesday, 12 June 2019 08:22

Almost 300,000 people are being evacuated in India's west coast as a severe cyclone is expected to make landfall early Thursday.

As many as 700 shelter homes are being readied, and teams from National Disaster Response Force and the military are on standby to help with evacuation, search, rescue and relief operations.

On Wednesday, Cyclone Vayu will pass about 200 km west of Mumbai before making landfall in Gujarat with gust speeds as high as 135 kmph the next day.

Schools and colleges in Gujarat have also been ordered to remain closed on Thursday.

Cyclone Vayu is likely to have a mild impact over Lakshadweep, Kerala, Karnataka and south Maharashtra, the India Meteorological Department added.

More from International News

France shuts schools as heatwave grips Europe

More than a thousand schools were closed in France on Tuesday and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists as a severe heatwave continued to grip Europe, triggering health alerts across the region.
Blow for Thailand's government as court suspends PM from duty

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, in a major setback for a government under fire on multiple fronts and fighting for its survival.
Trump signs order lifting sanctions on Syria, White House says

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, allowing an end to the country's isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington's pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.
Suspect in murders of four Idaho college students to plead guilty

Former criminology graduate student Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to killing four Idaho college students in 2022, a move that would spare him the death penalty under a deal with prosecutors, according to the family of one of the victims.