Cyclone Tauktae Makes Landfall; Gujarat on High Alert, 6 Dead in Maharashtra | Top Points

The Gujarat government has shifted over 2 lakh people from low-lying areas in coastal towns to safer places and mobilised disaster response teams 44 from the NDRF and 10 from the SDRF - officials said.

New Delhi: A very severe cyclonic storm with winds gusting up to 185 km per hour began making landfall on Gujarat’s Saurashtra coast near Diu on Monday night, after dumping heavy rains on Mumbai, forcing the evacuation of over 2 lakh people in Gujarat and leaving two barges with 410 people on board adrift in the Arabian Sea. At least six persons were killed in Maharashtra’s Konkan region in separate incidents related to the severe cyclonic storm and three sailors remained missing after two boats sank in the sea earlier in the day, officials said.

“The landfall process of extremely severe cyclonic storm Tauktae has started as forward sector of eye of the storm is entering the Saurashtra coast to the east of Diu,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in Ahmedabad. The tropical storm ‘Tauktae’ (pronounced as Tau’Te), which had intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm, lies close to the Gujarat coast, the IMD said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 44 teams in Gujarat where the landfall of the cyclone is anticipated between Porbandar and Mahuva during the night of May 17. Besides 10 teams in Maharashtra, nine teams in Kerala, eight teams in Tamil Nadu, three teams in Karnataka, three teams in Daman & Diu, one team in Dadra Nagar & Haveli and one team in Goa have been deployed in the coastal districts of the states/UTs.

Here are top 10 points from this big story:

1. The Gujarat government has shifted over 2 lakh people from low-lying areas in coastal towns to safer places and mobilised disaster response teams 44 from the NDRF and 10 from the SDRF – officials said.
2. An IMD official said the eye of the storm is likely to cross the Gujarat coast in about two hours. Tauktae, potentially the most devastating cyclone to hit Gujarat in almost 23 years, would make a landfall anywhere between the Union Territory of Diu and Mahuva town of Bhavnagar district just near Diu.
3. Gujarat Chief Minister also confirmed that the process of landfall has started. He said coastal districts of Amreli, Junagadh, Gir- Somnath and Bhavnagar will face the maximum brunt as the wind speed would go up to 150 kmph when the eye of the storm would make a landfall.
4. Major airports in Gujarat, including Ahmedabad and Surat, have shut down operations as a precautionary measure. Barring the Rajkot airport, which will remain shut for flights till 11:15 am on May 19, other three major airports – Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara -will remain closed for both domestic and international flights till Tuesday. The Ahmedabad Airport, which suspended its operations on Monday evening, will resume its operations after 5 am on Tuesday, the airport said.
5. The Centre has offered all help to Gujarat to deal with the cyclone and asked the Army, Navy and the Air Force to remain on standby to assist the administration if need arises, the state government said.
6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are in touch with the state government and have extended all possible help, said Rupani after holding a meeting with collectors of coastal districts which are likely to face the maximum brunt of the cyclone.
7. The PM called up Rupani and enquired about the state government’s preparedness to deal with the cyclone, the CM office said here. Modi, during the telephone conversation, assured the state government of all possible help, it said.
8. Meanwhile, six persons were killed in Maharashtra’s Konkan region in separate incidents related to the severe cyclonic storm and three sailors remained missing after two boats sank in the sea, officials said.
9. Winds blew at 114 kmph in Mumbai on Monday afternoon as the cyclonic storm passed close to the Mumbai coast, civic officials said. The highest wind speed of 108 km per hour was recorded at the Colaba observatory in the afternoon, said Shubhangi Bhute, senior director, IMD Mumbai.
10. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took stock of the situation in Mumbai, Thane and other coastal districts and assessed the damage caused by the cyclonic storm.

(With inputs from PTI)