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Gujarat cyclone weakens, inches towards Pak

The people of Gujarat, especially in the coastal districts, heaved a sigh of relief when the massive storm in the Arabian Sea weakened and silently left towards the Pakistan coast.

As the situation returned to normal, nearly 50,000 people, who had been shifted to safer places in the coastal areas during the last two days, started going home.

Indian Meteorological Department Director D M Patel said this afternoon that the storm had already merged into the Arabian Sea, after touching Naliya in Kutch district and advancing towards Pakistan. Due to its impact, Naliya witnessed strong winds - up to 100 kilometre per hour - and heavy rainfall.

The , which had built up near Kerala on May 16 and moved northward during the last three days, had the potential to wreak havoc on the Gujarat coast.

The threat had brought memories of the June 1998 cyclone which had claimed nearly 2000 lives and left a trail of destruction of property worth Rs 20 billion.

UNI

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