Cyclone Vayu: IAF's C-17 aircraft to airlift 160 NDRF personnel from Vijayawada

Indian Air Force's C-17 aircraft has joined the rescue operations ahead of Cyclone Vayu, which is expected to make landfall in Gujarat on Thursday morning. Carrying out Humanitarian Assistance And Disaster Relief (HADR) mission, the aircraft will airlift 160 personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Vijayawada to Jamnagar.

“#CycloneVayu : Today a C-17 aircraft of #IAF got airborne from New Delhi to Vijayawada. The aircraft is planned to airlift about 160 personnel of NDRF from Vijayawada to Jamnagar to carry out the #HADR missions for the people affected by the cyclone in Gujarat. #SavingLives,” tweeted the IAF.

#CycloneVayu : Today a C-17 aircraft of #IAF got airborne from New Delhi to Vijayawada. The aircraft is planned to airlift about 160 personnel of NDRF from Vijayawada to Jamnagar to carry out the #HADR missions for the people affected by the cyclone in Gujarat. #SavingLives pic.twitter.com/V9Z2KuKJ6r

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 11, 2019

Cyclone Vayu is likely to hit the Gujarat coast on June 13 morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Tuesday. A deep depression over the Arabian Sea, which has been brewing over the last two days intensified into a cyclonic storm Vayu, added the weather department. It will further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high level meeting on Tuesday to review the preparedness of State and Central Ministries/Agencies, which are tasked to deal with the situation arising out of Cyclone Vayu. Several teams of state and National Disaster Relief Force have been posted in all coastal districts.

The cyclone is likely to disturb the advancement of Monsoon, which has already been delayed by a week. The severe cyclonic storm is likely to cause heavy rains and winds in the coastal districts of Gujarat - Saurashtra, like Bhavnagar, Amreli, Junagadh, Jamangar, Porbandar, Dwarka and also Kutch.

Vayu is likely to result in heavy to very heavy showers all along India's western coastline with many parts here experiencing rough to very rough sea conditions. Fishermen in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat have been advised to exercise maximum caution before venturing into the sea. Wind speeds could reach up to 155 kmph during landfall in Gujarat.