Cyclone Biparjoy; No casualties but heavy damage to power infra

Nearly 4,600 villages were left without power as the cyclone damaged scores of transformers and toppled as many as 5,120 electric poles.

An earthmover being used to clear uprooted trees from a road following the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy, at Bhuj-Naliya Highway in Kutch district. 

AHMEDABAD: Cyclone Biparjoy that struck Gujarat on Thursday night unleashed a trail of destruction in coastal districts as it uprooted thousands of trees and electric poles, damaged houses and roads, and caused flooding in several coastal villages.

Nearly 4,600 villages were left without power as the cyclone damaged scores of transformers and toppled as many as 5,120 electric poles. Personnel from the electricity department on Friday managed to restore power in 3,580 villages, state Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said.

He said there were no casualties due to the cyclone but it caused extensive financial loss to the state. Officials have been directed to start the process to assess the damage. “Not a single human death has been reported so far due to the cyclone. This has been possible because of our collective effort,” he added.

Hundreds of trees were uprooted and traffic on three state highways came to a standstill, the officials said, adding that at least 23 people were injured due to cyclone-related incidents while many houses were damaged.

In all, as many as 1,137 trees were uprooted due to strong winds and heavy rains, disrupting traffic in 263 roads across the state. A cattle rearer and his son died in the Bhavnagar district while trying to save their goats stuck in a flooded ravine. Bhavnagar Collector R K Mehta told this newspaper that the deaths were not due to the cyclone.

On Friday, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel convened a meeting at the emergency operations centre in Gandhinagar to assess the state’s position after the cyclone passed. He asked collectors of the affected districts to do a survey to determine the extent of damage to property, infrastructure and crops.

According to officials, around 20 kutcha houses, nine pucca houses, and 65 huts were completely destroyed in the affected districts, while 474 kutcha dwellings and two pucca houses were partially damaged due to the cyclone.