Cyclone Tauktae, the biggest to hit the region in decades, made landfall in Gujarat at around 8.30 pm on Monday, packing winds with speeds of 155-165 kilometres per hour, gusting to 190 km/hour. After the landfall ended around midnight, the weather office downgraded the storm from 'extremely severe' to 'very severe'. It later said in a tweet that the cyclone was weakening further.
In a relief to the people, the IMD, in its tweet after midnight, also announced that Cyclone Tauktae has weakened into a "very severe cyclonic storm" from the "extremely severe cyclonic storm".
"The entire eye of the cyclone has now crossed the coast and lies over land. The rear sector of the eye is now entering the land" the IMD tweeted.
Meanwhile, flight operations at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, halted for hours due to the cyclone, have been resumed. The cyclone triggered strong winds with the highest-ever speed of 114 kilometers per hour in Mumbai.
At least six people were killed and several injured in Maharashtra as Cyclone Tauktae brushed past the state while eight people died in cyclone-affected coastal Karnataka.
The NDRF on Monday said it has evacuated thousands of stranded people in the last three days in Gujarat, Kerala and Daman and Diu in view of Cyclone Tauktae.
The major ports and airports have been shut in Gujarat as the most powerful cyclone in more than two decades roared up the west coast. The cyclone has left a trail of destruction as it brushed past the coastal states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, the authorities said.
Home Minister Amit Shah also reviewed the preparedness for Cyclone Tauktae in Gujarat, Maharashtra and two Union territories on Sunday and "specifically" stressed that all health facilities, including those for COVID-19 treatment, falling in the affected areas should be secured along with the patients.
Here are the LIVE Updates on Cyclone Tauktae:
Cyclone: Navy Ships Rescue 132 From Barge Adrift Near Mumbai
The Indian Navy has rescued 132 people on board a barge that went adrift in the Arabia Sea near Mumbai hours before a very severe cyclonic storm with winds gusting up to 185 km per hour made landfall on the Gujarat coast, an official said on Tuesday.
The Navy had deployed three of its frontline warships after receiving messages to rescue 410 people on board two barges off the Mumbai coast on Monday.
The ships deployed to extend assistance to the two barges were INS Kolkata, INS Kochi and INS Talwar.
"A total of 132 persons from Barge P305 have been rescued in extremely challenging sea conditions," a Navy spokesperson said on Tuesday morning.
Cyclone Tauktae LIVE updates: A severe cyclonic storm made landfall on India’s west coast, home to major refineries and ports, causing heavy rain and strong winds at a time when the nation is already battling the world’s worst outbreak of Covid-19.
Cyclone Tauktae, equivalent of a category 3 hurricane, slammed Gujarat state late on Monday, with wind speed surging as high as 190 kilometers (118 miles) per hour, according to the India Meteorological Department. The landfall process will be completed in three hours, the national weather forecaster said in a statement, reported Bloomberg.
Heavy downpours in some areas, including in the financial hub of Mumbai, will continue for the next 12 hours, while sea waves of as high as 4 meters above normal tides are likely to inundate some coastal places, said the weather office.
Google Source: NDTV | Zee News | Times of India