700+ Babies Welcomed During Cyclone Biparjoy in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: Cyclone Biparjoy struck Gujarat on Thursday night, causing extensive damage and leaving around 1,000 villages without power. Amidst the crisis, a remarkable occurrence took place as 707 babies were born to pregnant women who were evacuated from high-risk areas.

As a precautionary measure, over one lakh people were evacuated from the coastal regions of Gujarat. The government successfully evacuated 1,152 out of 1,171 pregnant women from the eight districts in the cyclone’s path. Out of these women, 707 went into labour and safely delivered their babies, according to an official government statement.

The impact of Cyclone Biparjoy was severe, particularly in the Kutch-Saurashtra region. More than 5,100 electricity poles were damaged, resulting in power outages in 4,600 villages. Restoration efforts have brought back electricity in 3,580 villages, while approximately 1,000 villages remain without power.

The cyclone caused significant disruption, uprooting nearly 600 trees and leading to the closure of three state highways. Traffic was affected, and numerous houses suffered damage. Fortunately, due to the extensive evacuation efforts, only 23 people sustained injuries, and no fatalities were reported.

The successful evacuation of pregnant women was particularly noteworthy. Kutch district witnessed the highest number of evacuations, with 348 cyclone babies being born there. Rajkot and Devbhumi Dwarka saw 100 and 93 babies born, respectively.

The government statement highlighted the collaborative effort that contributed to the prevention of any human casualties. The Gujarat Relief Commissioner, Alok Kumar Pandey, expressed satisfaction over the fact that no deaths were reported due to Cyclone Biparjoy.

This achievement was made possible by the concerted efforts of the government and involved the deployment of 302 government vehicles and 202 ambulances, each equipped with medical staff, which tirelessly worked day and night to ensure the safety and well-being of the pregnant women.