Online Desk :
Strong Cyclone Tauktae hit the Gujarat coast in India on Monday evening, killing at least six people in Maharashtra, eight people off the coast in Karnataka. 121 villages in seven districts have been severely damaged by the storm, said the state’s Disaster Management Force.
The storm will cross the coast between Porbandar and Mahuva areas in two hours, NDTV reported, citing the country’s meteorological office. During this, the wind speed will be 155-165 kmph. The speed of the storm in Mumbai was 114 kmph. At that time, there were heavy rains with gusty winds occurred in the state.
At least 55 flights have been suspended at Mumbai International Airport. Civil aviation will also be shut down till 11:00 am on Tuesday.
Three warships have been deployed to rescue at least 400 passengers and crew stranded on two ships off the coast of Mumbai.
Earlier, an army team joined the local administration to handle the situation.
The army team will work closely with the administration to activate the post-storm telecommunications systems and traffic. The rescue operation will be carried out as per the hygiene guidelines given during the COVID pandemic.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s office said in a statement on Monday evening that “at least eight people were killed and nine others injured in the storm”. The concerned government divisions have been directed to intensify relief activities among the storm victims.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special meeting on Saturday to assess the readiness to handle the post-cyclone situation. He discussed the cyclone in detail with senior officials of the Center and officials of the National Disaster Management Department.
The Indian Prime Minister inspected the readiness of the rescue operation including shelters and relief materials to save people from the cyclone. More than 50 contingents of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
