As Cyclone Vayu inches closer to the Gujarat coast and is expected to make a landfall on Thursday, authorities have shifted over 1.60 lakh people from low-lying areas of Saurashtra and Kutch regions.

Operations at ports and airports in these regions have been suspended as precautionary measure, officials said.

As per the latest weather report, cyclone Vayu, which has turned into a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’, has changed its course slightly and would now hit Gujarat coast anywhere between Veraval in the south and Dwarka in the west in the afternoon Thursday, officials said.

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The cyclone is now situated around 280 km south of Veraval, they said.

After making the landfall, the cyclone is likely to move along and parallel to Saurashtra and Kutch coast, they said.