Delvada, Gir Cyclone Shelter

Ensuring that all remote areas of the state align with the ‘no casualty’ approach with natural calamities, the Gujarat government has brought up facilities and systems to achieve this initiative.

This approach proved its efficiency during the Biparjoy Cyclone in June 2023, ensuring zero casualties.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, overlooking the disaster management situation in the state, mapped out a detailed communication plan, liaison, mobilisation of field support and shelter home arrangements, and post-disaster preparedness during the cyclone in 2023.

Over 2.64 crore real-time messages were sent to people in the disaster-affected areas, thus providing timely and accurate information about a natural calamity to the masses to prevent casualties.

During the cyclone, the State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) sent weather updates from the Meteorological Department to all mobile phone users in the affected regions, which included Banaskantha, Kutch, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Patan, Dwarka, Jamnagar, Morbi, and Junagadh.

Cyclone shelters across Gujarat

In pre-disaster preparedness, the Gujarat government constructed 76 advanced Multi-Purpose Cyclone Shelters (MPCS) in coastal regions, which have significantly contributed to ensuring zero casualties during the cyclones.

The cyclone shelters, built at a cost of ₹271 cr, were spread across 10 districts: 25 in Junagadh, 29 in Gir Somnath, 4 in Porbandar, 4 in Devbhumi Dwarka, 4 in Kutch, 2 in Amreli, 1 in Jamnagar, 1 in Navsari, 5 in Bharuch, and 1 in Ahmedabad.

Additionally, the government identified 2,213 safe shelter locations in various talukas under the Disaster Management Plan.

Before the Biparjoy cyclone, the Gujarat government successfully relocated more than 1.56 lakh people, including 1,174 pregnant women, 7,526 elderly, and 30,631 children from 10 districts.

The Gujarat government also prepared an SOP to rescue Gujarat’s Gir Lions and other vulnerable wildlife during the cyclone. Specialised rescue teams were also deployed at Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Mata No Madh in Kutch, and Barda in Porbandar.

Additionally, over 52 thousand cattle from Kutch, Dwarka, Jamnagar, and Morbi districts were relocated to safer locations.

Rural villages across the state are also undergoing training for comprehensive disaster preparedness under the ‘Aapda Mitra’ scheme to train volunteers in every disaster-prone district.

So far, a total of 5,500 ‘Aapda Mitra’ or disaster management volunteers have already been trained across 17 districts in Gujarat, who also collaborated with the SDRF during the Biparjoy cyclone.