India is bracing for its second major storm of the year as tropical cyclone Vayu builds off the northwest Indian coast.
The storm is expected to make landfall in the next 24 hours with wind speeds in excess of 170 kilometres per hour.
Hitting the subcontinent one month after Storm Fani ravaged the east coast, Vayu – which is named after the Hindu word for wind – could become the most ferocious storm to roll over India in decades.
Almost 300,000 people have been evacuated and schools and colleges have closed and will remain so until until Friday.
Start Effect At JAFARABAD#CycloneVayu pic.twitter.com/lCwRmvttGG
— Parvez Gujarati (@Parvez_gujarati) June 12, 2019
According to India's Press Information Bureau Twitter account, tourists in Gujarat have been told to leave the area and anyone planning to visit in the coming days has been advised to postpone travel.
Tourists visiting #Gujarat now and the residents of nearby areas have been advised to leave for safer places after the afternoon of 12 June. Also, the travellers who have planned their visits in coming 2-3 days are advised to postpone : @GujaratTourism in view of #CycloneVayu pic.twitter.com/AymQwgofYb
— PIB in Gujarat (@PIBAhmedabad) June 12, 2019
Flight disruptions
Some flights to and from Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru have been cancelled or delayed.
Flights in and out of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai are also facing disruption thanks to poor visibility in Mumbai.
#6ETravelAdvisory: Request all passengers to check delays/diversions due to bad weather resulting in heavy air traffic congestion at Mumbai. Visit https://t.co/7UGOtouYYS or SMS ST <flight no.><flight date> as DDMM, e.g. for flight 6E-333 for June 11, send ST 333 1106 to 566772
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) June 10, 2019
Airlines affected include Vistara, United Airlines, Spice Jet, Air Asia and Indigo. At the time of writing, all flights between the UAE and India remain unaffected but travellers are advised to check airlines' social media pages for any updates as the cyclone builds strength.
Some flights have also been disrupted from Bengaluru to Pune, Goa and Ahmedabad.
The UK has issued a travel warning for the cyclone, advising travellers to monitor weather updates from the Indian Meteorological Department.
#India Cyclonic Storm Vayu is forecast to make landfall near the Gujarat coast on Thursday 13 June. You should monitor local weather updates and follow the advice of local authorities. More info: https://t.co/r0w8bCUvSF pic.twitter.com/TMfJk13YdM
— FCDO Travel Advice (@FCDOtravelGovUK) June 11, 2019
The cyclone comes one month after Storm Fani battered the Indian states of Odisha and West Bengal. More than one million people were evacuated ahead of the tropical storm and dozens were killed.
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Read more:
India cyclone: 800,000 evacuated from eastern districts as landfall nears
Watch: Cyclone Fani damages student hostel in Bhubaneswar
Flights cancelled and travel warning issued as Cyclone Fani hits India
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