Cyclone Phyan threatens India's west coast
Mumbai, Nov 11 (IANS) The cyclone over the Arabian Sea Wednesday was 'likely to intensify further' and cross the Indian coast between north Maharashtra and south Gujarat in the early hours of Thursday, says the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Now named Phyan, the cyclone was about 250 km directly west of Goa at 2.30 a.m. Thursday, the IMD said on its website, even as it it issued an 'orange' alert. That is one step below the red alert put out for a really severe cyclone. At that hour, Phyan was 420 km south-southwest of Mumbai and 670 km south-southwest of Surat in south Gujarat. 'The system is likely to intensify further and move north-northeastwards and cross south Gujarat and north Maharashtra coast between Mahuva and Dahanu by early hours of Nov 12,' the website reported. Fishermen have already been asked not to go out to sea, and oil rigs in Bombay High were battening down, according to local media reports. The IMD expects that maximum sustain...