As cyclone Nisarga makes landfall in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra, nearly one lakh people have been evacuated from the cyclone spot, said National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director-General.
"A total of 43 NDRF teams have been deployed in the wake of the cyclone, including 21 in Maharashtra and 16 in Gujarat. We have evacuated around 40,000 people each from both the states, along with several from Daman and Diu. Nearly one lakh people have been evacuated so far," SN Pradhan, NDRF Director-General told .
NDRF, with the help of local authorities and police, has been conducting evacuation operations to minimise the potential damage from the cyclone.
"Section 144 has been imposed in Maharashtra, especially in the coastal areas. With the COVID-19 lockdown imposed, we are being extra careful to ensure that everyone remains safe. We urge people to remain indoors," said Pranaya Ashok, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mumbai.
Cyclone Nisarga is expected to last for six hours, leading to depression on Thursday morning, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
While efforts are being made to ensure minimum damage to human lives, a little could be done for the potential structural damage to infrastructure.
"Approximately 3,000 people have been evacuated in Daman while few operations are underway. We are well prepared. Old buildings and thatched houses would receive the maximum impact from the cyclone so we have ensured that people living across the coastline in such places be evacuated to safer places," NDRF Deputy Commandant AK Pathak said.
Two NDRF teams were reportedly airlifted from Bhatinda and Visakhapatnam to assist in the process.
( With inputs from ANI )