Cyclone Phyan threatens India's west coast

Cyclone named as "Phyan" threatens India's west coast

All the people who are staying in India's west coast and in Mumbai must be attentive as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told that the cyclone named as "Phyan" over the Arabian Sea on Wednesday was "likely to intensify further" and cross the Indian coast between north Maharashtra and south Gujarat in the early hours of Thursday.

For a really stern cyclone named Phyan, The IMD has issued an 'orange' alert, one step under the red alert. Phyan had speeded up while the last alert had been issued.

The IMD said on its website that the cyclone had moved northwards over the Arabian Sea overnight and was about 250 km west-northwest of Goa at 2.30 a.m., 350 km south-southwest of Mumbai and 620 km south-southwest of Surat at 5.30 am. The IMD expects that highest sustained surface wind speed under the influence of Cyclone Phyan will be 70-80 kmph between 5.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m on Wednesday, gusting up to 90 kmph.

In Mumbai, at a meeting of the Disaster Management Cell, Chief Secretary Johny Joseph assess the situation and preparedness to deal with the cyclone.

Due to the reports that cyclone 'Phyan' would strike the India's west coast on Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok chavan said in Mumbai that schools and colleges in Mumbai and neighboring Thane would remain closed. He made this announcement in the Legislative Assembly.

Fishermen in Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, and Gujarat, as well as the Lakshadweep Islands, have been informed not to go out to sea and according to local media reports, offshore oil rigs in Bombay High were panel down.