Vayu spares Gujarat coast after change in its course

Sparing Gujarat after changing course, cyclone Vayu on Thursday began moving away from the state coast towards Oman, even as the danger of heavy winds and rain in coastal areas continued, officials said.

Though the “eye of the storm” is away from land, the cyclone’s outer periphery would leave its impact on the coast. A dozen talukas in the coastal belt received more than one inch of rain since Thursday morning due to the cyclone, said an official release by the Gujarat government.

State authorities have already evacuated three lakh people from low-lying areas near the coast to safer places.

The railways has cancelled 86 trains and short-terminated 37 others due to cyclone Vayu, officials said. The cancellations were made as a precaution. Chief minister Vijay Rupani said, “The IMD said the cyclone no lon-ger poses any danger as it (has) moved towards Oman without making a landfall in the coastal belt.”