Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from India’s western Gujarat state ahead of a huge cyclone expected to make land with gusts of up to 170 kilometers an hour.

Forecasters are warning that the storm is set for landfall early Thursday morning local time, and state officials have started evacuating around 300,000 people from low-lying coastal areas to shelters.

#CycloneVayu : NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) team with the help of police and civil administration has evacuated 65 people from #Diu and shifted them to shelters. pic.twitter.com/davTfvmQkn — ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2019

Some rail services are being suspended ahead of the storm’s arrival, and residents in Cyclone Vayu’s projected path are being warned to stay clear of the coastline. The Indian Air Force is transporting National Disaster Relief Force personnel and emergency aid to the region.

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