India begins cleanup after Cyclone Biparjoy damage

Emergency workers from India's National Disaster Response Force begin cleanup efforts in parts of the western coastal state of Gujarat, after Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall, uprooting trees and damaging property.

Cyclone Biparjoy tore down power poles and uprooted trees Friday after pummelling the Indian coastline. More than 180,000 people in the Indian state of Gujarat and Pakistan's neighbouring Sindh province fled the path of Biparjoy.

The storm packed sustained winds of up to 125 kilometres per hour as it struck but weakened overnight, with Indian forecasters expecting it to calm into a moderate low-pressure system by late Friday.

Hundreds of electricity poles were uprooted along the coast, cutting power to most of the area according to a spokesperson for Gujarat's government. Biparjoy was expected to slow to maximum sustained winds of 60 kilometres per hour before noon (0630 GMT) according to India's weather bureau said.