Tropical Cyclone Vayu Expected to Hit India

Tropical Cyclone Vayu is expected to bring heavy flooding rain, strong wind, and storm surge to parts of India later this week.

Authorities have evacuated almost quarter-million people in preparation of the storm.

Tropical Cyclone Vayu is less south-southeast of Karachi, Pakistan, and is moving northwestward.

Early on June 10, a depression formed in the Arabian Sea, just northwest of the Maldives.

As the system moved northward, it gradually strengthened, becoming a deep depression, before intensifying further into Cyclonic Storm Vayu later that day.

After being upgraded to a severe cyclonic storm on June 11, and concurrently to Category 1 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, the system began a period of rapid intensification.

Vayu strengthened into a very severe cyclonic storm soon afterwards, and reached Category 2-equivalent tropical cyclone status by June 12.