In view of the cyclone alert issued by weather agencies earlier, authorities evacuated over 3,500 from danger prone areas and moved them into a safer location. Local administration also asked people living in huts and mud houses to take shelter in nearby buildings, collector Amit Arora was quoted by PTI as saying.

“Since the cyclone has already entered the sea and is heading towards Oman, there was an impact on the coast. Except for some rain and winds blowing at considerable speed, there was no impact here. There was no immediate news about injury or death or collapse of any major structure,” Arora added.

On Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement that the deep depression over Kutch coast and adjoining areas of Pakistan had “intensified into Cyclonic Storm Asna and lay centered at 11:30 am over the same region nearly 190 km west-northwest of Bhuj.

The forecast said that the impact of the cyclonic storm may be felt on Friday, following which authorities took preventative measures and carried out evacuation operations.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had reached the State Emergency Operations Centre in Gandhinagar on Thursday night and talked to Arora through video conference about the district administration’s preparedness.

The occurrence of a deep depression over land converted into a cyclonic storm over the sea is extremely rare. The formation of a cyclone in August in the Arabian Sea is also rare, officials said.

Heavy rains paired with thunderstorms and gusty winds continued over parts of Gujarat on late Thursday and throughout Friday, leading to waterlogging in some villages and road blockages. As per officials, only four places in the state received 15 mm to 26 mm of rain between 6 am and 2 pm, while other parts remained dry or received light showers during this period.

(With inputs from agencies)