PTI photo

AHMEDABAD: Sparing Gujarat after changing course, Cyclone Vayu 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 here.

Though the "eye of the storm" is away from land, the cyclone's outer periphery would leave its impact on the coast, officials said.

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

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said, "According to IMD bulletin, Cyclone Vayu, which was going to hit Gujarat, has moved towards Oman. But the administration will continue to be on high alert for the next 24 hours."

Schools in coastal districts of Saurashtra and Kutch will remain closed Friday as a precaution, the chief minister said.

Rupani, who reviewed the situation late Thursday evening, said the cyclone "no longer poses any danger" but the administration in the coastal region will remain on alert.

"The IMD said the cyclone no longer poses any danger as it (has) moved towards Oman without making a landfall in the coastal belt," Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"The cyclone is very likely to move north- northwestwards for some time and then northwestwards skirting the Saurashtra coast affecting Gir Somnath, Diu, Junagarh, Porbandar and Devbhoomi Dwarka with wind speed 90- 100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph during next 12 hours," the IMD said in a release issued late Thursday evening.

"Though Vayu started skirting from the mainland, the danger is still there in the form of heavy rains or blowing of strong winds. We are not declaring as of now that there is no danger. All our measures will remain in place till tomorrow morning. We are not taking any chances," said Gujarat chief secretary, J N Singh.

Keshod, Kandla airports to resume operations from Thursday mid-night: AAI

State-owned AAI Thursday said Keshod and Kandla airports will resume operations from Thursday mid-night, while services from Diu, Porbandar and Bhavnagar will restart from Friday morning.

To avoid disruptions and damages to infrastructure due to cyclone Vayu, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had suspended flight operations from these airports for 24 hours starting midnight Wednesday.

"After assessing the situation and the prevalent weather patterns as per the locally available meteorological reports, it has been decided that Kandla and Keshod Airports will resume normal flight operations from 12 midnight Thursday," the release stated.

It also said that normal flight operations will resume at Bhavnagar airport from 6 am, and at Diu and Porbandar Airports from 10 am Friday, it added.

All the AAI-run airport directors in Gujarat have been advised to keep all the stakeholders, including airlines, disaster relief agencies, Indian Air Force, Coast Guard and the local administration informed about resumption of flights and normal operations of the airport, the release said.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh reviews Navy's preparation to deal with cyclone Vayu

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday reviewed the Navy's preparedness along the Maharashtra and Gujarat coast in view of cyclone Vayu, officials said.

Senior Navy officials briefed Singh at a meeting in naval headquarters here during which he was apprised about various measures being taken by the force to deal with possible scenarios, they said.

He was briefed about the ability and readiness of various assets of Western Naval Command (HQWNC) which were kept ready for deployment to the affected areas in case of requirement.

"The Western Naval Command, Mumbai is closely monitoring the developing situation. Indian Navy ships Chennai, Gomati and Deepak at Mumbai have embarked with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and are ready to be deployed at short notice," the Navy said.

In addition, 5,000 litres of drinking water is also being kept on board naval ships. Officials said seven naval aircraft and three helicopters are kept on standby for deployment.

