A deep depression that brought heavy rains and floods to Gujarat has intensified into Cyclone Asna, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported on Friday. This is the first cyclonic storm to form in the Arabian Sea in August since 1976. Cyclone Asna, named by Pakistan, is moving west-northwest away from the Indian coast.

According to IMD records, only three cyclonic storms have formed in the Arabian Sea during August between 1891 and 2023. The storms occurred in 1976, 1964, and 1944. The 1976 cyclone originated in Odisha, moved west-northwest into the Arabian Sea, followed a looping path, and weakened near Oman. Similarly, the 1944 cyclone intensified after reaching the Arabian Sea before weakening. In 1964, another short-lived cyclone developed near the South Gujarat coast and weakened close to the shore.

The deep depression, which was situated over the Kachchh coast and adjacent areas of Pakistan and the northeast Arabian Sea, moved westward at 6 kmph over the last six hours. It intensified into Cyclone Asna and was centered at 1130 hours over the same region, 190 km west-northwest of Bhuj, Gujarat.

The IMD stated that Cyclone Asna will continue moving nearly west-northwest over the northeast Arabian Sea, away from the Indian coast, for the next two days.

The classification of a deep depression includes wind speeds ranging from 52 kmph to 61 kmph, while a cyclone has wind speeds between 63 kmph and 87 kmph.

The heavy rains in Gujarat have resulted in the tragic loss of 26 lives over the past four days. Over 18,000 people have been relocated, and around 1,200 have been rescued from flood-affected areas.

Security forces have deployed helicopters to evacuate people to safer locations, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

Vadodara has been the hardest-hit city due to the recent downpour but received some relief as the Vishwamitri river's water level dropped from 37 feet to 32 feet in the morning.

Despite this, many low-lying areas remain flooded. The river had exceeded the danger mark of 25 feet on Tuesday morning following heavy rains and the release of water from Ajwa Dam.

Authorities are closely monitoring the weather and taking steps to mitigate the impact of the floods.

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