Coast evacuated, schools and offices shut early

The eye of Cyclone Phyan never really formed clearly, its intensity considerably lower than expected, but a worried state government and civic body took no chances, packing off most Mumbaiites home before 3 pm, well before the hour the storm was expected to hit the Mumbai-Thane coast.

Even as officials explained that evacuations had been stopped and there was no cause for fear, government employees and school and college students returned home to an evening of gusty winds and rain, a pleasant respite from weeks of unusually sultry weather for November.

S C Mohanty, officer on special duty with the government’s disaster management unit, said that the “deep depression” over the Arabian Sea was upgraded to a cyclone around 4.30 am on Wednesday. However, the cyclone was never completely formed, its peak speeds not exceeding 18 to 20 kilometres an hour.

By then, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had already advised people living along the coastline that it was wise to move. The administration identified six vulnerable locations, all low-lying areas, which could be inundated and kept six rescue teams on alert.

Following the Met Department alert, the BMC evacuated about 10,000 slums close to the sea: Geeta Nagar in Colaba, Worli Koliwada, Nariman Baug, Carter Road in Bandra, Khar Danda and Sagar Kutir in Andheri. By late afternoon, as the cyclone moved away, Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said it was not mandatory for these people to shift. “We are providing people with alternative accommodation, but are not forcing people. We have told them it’s desirable to leave their places if they still fear strong winds,” she said. If the impact of the cyclone persists, the BMC said, an alert on schools and offices’ functioning would be given later.

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