The cyclonic storm Tauktae taking place over the east-central Arabian Sea moved towards the north-northwest on Monday, closer to India’s western coast. It surpassed Mumbai on Monday evening and is all set to cross the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva between 8-11 pm tonight, the latest update from the Indian Meteorological Department reads. The Tauktae was declared as ‘Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm’ by the IMD early morning on Monday.
As of 7 pm, the cyclone is about 100kms away from the coast of Una, where it will affect areas under 200 nautical miles of the eye of the storm, the center of the cyclone. The IMD has predicted that the states of Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavanagar, Gir Somnath, and UT Diu will be affected by severely damaging wind speeds of 155-165 km/h, through Monday night and Tuesday morning. Gujarat may also witness a sustained wind speed gusting to 185 km/h.
The cyclone surpassed Maharashtra on Monday and led to the death of two. Trees around the capital city of Mumbai were uprooted severely, local property was damaged, and high-intensity rainfall was witnessed.
Members of the Maharashtra Coast Guard say that rains will continue for two more days.
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The IMD has warned that Konkan and adjoining mid-Maharashtra areas will receive varying levels of rainfall on May 17, while the Konkan region will receive heavy rainfall on May 18. As for Gujarat, heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur over Saurashtra, Diu, and Kutch areas.
Gale winds speed reaching 80-90 km/h gusting to 100 km/h are likely to prevail along & off Maharashtra coast on 17th and gradually decrease thereafter, while gale wind speed over adjoining northeast Arabian Sea would increase to170–180 km/h, gusting to 200 km/h from May 17 evening for six hours.
The IMD also warned that sea conditions will be ‘Phenomenal’ over east-central and adjoining northeast Arabian Sea till May 18 morning and improve gradually thereafter. As for Gujarat, sea conditions will be ‘High’ along & off south Gujarat, Daman, Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli coasts during the next 6 hours becoming ‘Phenomenal’ till May 18. It will gradually improve after.
To ensure the safety of residents from the cyclone, a number of evacuation drives took place on the Monday and preceding days. Fishermen were advised to not venture into the east-central Arabian sea along and off Maharashtra, Goa, and Gujarat coasts till 18th noon. Probable damage was signaled by the IMD over Diu, Amreli Junagarh, Gir Somnath Botad & Bhavnagar, and coastal areas of Ahmedabad, which includes the destruction of thatched houses, few pucca houses, uprooting of trees, power and communication poles, and disruption of railway services.
Eleven Indian Navy Diving Teams have been kept on standby in case of any request from authorities of affected states. Twelve flood rescue teams and medical teams have been earmarked for immediate response and deployment. Repair and rescue teams have also been formed to undertake urgent infrastructural repairs post-cyclone, if required. In a meeting held with leaders of India’s defense forces, Union Minister Rajnath Singh was informed that IAF has deployed two aircrafts for transportation of 167 personnel and 16.5 tonnes of load of the National Disaster Relief Fund from Kolkata to Ahmedabad. Multiple aircrafts also carried over 200 NDRF personnel and 25+ tonnes of cargo to Ahmedabad.
Gujarat has evacuated over 1.5 lakh citizens from 17 districts that lie along its coastal belt, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Monday. Adding that close to 450 health department teams have been deployed across the state, the CM said, “Alternate arrangements to hospitals have been made in case the power supply is affected. Over 650 electricity teams have been deployed, and power backups have been arranged. We have also put-up ICUs and ambulances on standbys.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Mr. Rupani to inquire about the preparations that have been made in lieu of the storm, and assured full cooperation from the central government.
The Railways Department also braced for the storm’s impact. Zonal and divisional control teams are monitoring the situation, and are in touch with railway stations in the Southern Railway, South Western Railway, Konkan Railway, Central Railway, and Western Railway. All emergency response teams like Accident Relief Trains (ART), Medical Relief Vans (MRV), and Tower Wagons have been put on high alert.
The cyclone has led to multiple deaths and severe property damage in Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Tauktae is being predicted as the most severe cyclone to pass Gujarat in two decades. “This will be the most severe cyclone to hit Gujarat in at least 20 years. This can be compared with the 1998 cyclone that hit Kandla and inflicted heavy damage,” state revenue secretary Pankaj Kumar told Reuters.
This is a developing story.
