Cyclone Biparjoy subsides, relief camps empty in India

More than 100,000 people who had taken shelter in relief camps in western India due to Cyclone Biparjoy have started returning home as the storm weakened. The cyclone uprooted trees and electricity poles in hundreds of villages along the coastal regions of Gujarat, leaving some 1,500 villages without power. Early warnings, accurate identification of vulnerable areas and timely evacuations helped India to avert major casualties. The frequency, duration and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea have increased significantly between 1982 and 2019, making preparations for natural disasters more urgent.