New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday asked officials to ensure the safe evacuation of all people in vulnerable areas and the maintenance of all essential services as he chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of the Centre and the Gujarat government to deal with the impending "extremely severe cyclonic storm" ‘Biparjoy’.

The cyclone is likely to make landfall between Gujarat's Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan on Thursday afternoon.

After being briefed about efforts undertaken to mitigate the impact of the cyclone, PM Modi directed officials to take every possible measure to ensure that people living in vulnerable locations are safely evacuated.

He asked officials to ensure the maintenance of all essential services with preparedness for immediate restoration in the event of damages. He also asked them to also ensure the safety of animals.

During the meeting, India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed that Cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ is expected to cross Saurashtra & Kutch between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by noon of 15th June as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 145 kmph.

The cyclone is likely to cause heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of Gujarat, including extremely heavy falls in Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, and Jamnagar; and heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places over Porbandar, Rajkot, Morbi, and Junagarh districts of Gujarat on Thursday and Friday.

IMD informed that it has been issuing regular bulletins since the onset of the cyclonic system on 6th June with the latest forecast to all the States and agencies concerned.

It was also informed that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is reviewing the situation 24*7 and is in touch with the State Government and the Central Agencies concerned.

NDRF has pre-positioned 12 teams, which are equipped with boats, tree-cutters, telecom equipment, and has kept 15 teams on standby.

Indian Coast Guard and the Navy have deployed ships and helicopters for relief, search and rescue operations.

The cyclone was named Biparjoy by Bangladesh which means "disaster" or "calamity" in Bengali. As per the IMD website, the name was adopted by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) countries in 2020 and pronounced Biporjoy.

The Pakistan government has also advised authorities in Sindh and Balochistan to remain alert.