
NEW DELHI: Cyclone Biparjoy, packing maximum sustained winds with speeds of up to 145 kmph, is swirling towards the Gujarat coast and is expected to make landfall near Jakhau port in Kutch district.
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a warning about the "extensive damaging potential" of the cyclone, authorities have already evacuated around 74,000 people living in vulnerable areas.
India, with a total coastal area of 7,516 km, is exposed to around 8 per cent of the world's tropical cyclones.
Nearly 32 crore people in 9 coastal states -- Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal on the east coast and Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat on the west coast -- and some Union territories are vulnerable to the impact of cyclones.
Majority of the cyclones have their genesis over the Bay of Bengal and strike the east coast of India.
However, recent research shows that the frequency, duration, and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea have increased significantly over the last few decades.
On an average, five to six tropical cyclones form every year, of which two or three could be severe, government data shows.
Several major cyclones have hit various parts of India over the last 10 years.
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Here is a look at the notable among them: