May 20, 1999
Web posted at: 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 GMT)

AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) - A severe cyclone has shifted course to the northwest toward Pakistan after prompting mass evacuations and port closures in India's western state of Gujarat, a weather official said on Thursday.

"It is located 110 km (69 miles) west of Naliya in the Kutch district and is moving in a northern direction toward Pakistan," an Indian Meteorological Department official said.

But he said the cyclone had also weakened.

"The wind speed is now about 180 kmh, down from 220 kmh last night," he said.

Weather officials had expected the cyclone to hit Gujarat late on Wednesday or early on Thursday.

Authorities in Gujarat had relocated 40,696 people from coastal areas, made elaborate rescue arrangements and put public utilities personnel on alert as the storm approached.

Coastal areas of Gujarat were lashed by pre-cyclone rain and high winds of 60-70 kmh.

India's busiest port, Kandla, was closed and all 14 vessels berthed there, including four oil tankers, were moved out.

Kandla has 15 jetties, seven for liquid cargo and the rest for general freight. Other minor ports on the state's coast were also shut down.

Last June the state was hit by a strong cyclone that killed more than 1,100 people. It damaged industrial installations and paralyzed port operation for over a month.

"We wanted to be extra careful after what we experienced last year," a state government spokesman said in the state capital of Gandhinagar.

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