Ahmedabad: Cyclone 'Phet' on Thursday moved towards the Oman coast vigorously churning the Arabian Sea resulting in 18-feet high waves and was expected to re-curve towards Pakistan and coastal Gujarat over the weekend.
So far, eight persons have died due to effects of cyclone in Gujarat, officials said adding, authorities have evacuated 12,000 people from coastal villages of the state.
Weather scientists said they expected Phet, categorised as a "very severe cyclone", to weaken before turning its sight towards Pakistan and Gujarat.
A satellite image of the cyclone revealed its eye, about 12-km in diameter, packing wind speeds of upto 130 kmph. Under its influence, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Kutch districts of Gujarat experienced overnight rains.
The cyclone is moving towards Oman and a speed of six kmph and is expected to make landfall in the forenoon on Friday.
It lay about 120 kms from Masrih island of Oman.
It is expected to re-curve and emerge into north-west Arabian Sea by Saturday and move towards Pakistan coast.
"Due to proximity to the land surface (near Oman), the system is interacting with land surface and showing sign of weakening," the weather office said.
According to IMD officials, squally winds would blow at speed of 40-50 kmph reaching to a maximum of 60 kmph along and off Gujarat coast over the next couple of days.
Scientists tracking the south-west monsoon said after the cyclone dies out by June 7, the annual rainfall season is expected to pick up speed and begin its northward march.
As a result of the cyclone, they said that sea condition would remain rough along and off Gujarat coast and adjoining north Arabian Sea and advised the fishermen not to venture into the sea in the next couple of days.
Distant Ports Warning 2 has been hoisted at all ports in the state, they added.
The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has forecast the storm to continue intensifying and to approach Oman on its way to a weekend landfall in southeastern Pakistan between Karachi and the border with India.
"As a precautionary measure, the state government has shifted nearly 7200 people to safer places in Rajkot, Kutch and Porbander districts in the last 24 hours," said a press statement, released after a meeting of state officials.
"As many as 5274 salt pan workers in Kutch have also been shifted to higher places and have been asked not to go for work for the next three days," it said.
According to officials, nine teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and eight teams of State Reserve Police (SRP) have been deployed in Saurashtra and Kutch, while three units of NDRF have been kept ready in Gandhinagar in addition to six units from Pune reached Vadodara on Thursday night.
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