AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: Covid-bruised Gujarat braced for a battering by the strongest cyclone to hit its coast since 1998 as Tauktae, which cut a swathe through the western coastal belt on Sunday and intensified into a “very severe” cyclonic storm, raced towards its predicted landfall between the Union Territory of Diu and Mahuva in Bhavnagar early Tuesday.
Tauktae Myanmarese for “gecko” is estimated to arrive with wind speeds of 155-165 kmph, gusting up to 185kmph, the IMD said. It is tipped to reach the Gujarat coast on Monday evening and cross the areas between Porbandar and Mahuva by dawn the next day.
Highlights
Over 1.5 lakh people were evacuated from low-lying areas along the western coast as a powerful Cyclone Tauktae is expected to make landfall in Gujarat by Monday.
Tauktae has now become a “very severe cyclonic storm and is likely to intensify even further in the next 24 hours.
At least six people have lost their lives, hundreds of houses were damaged, trees and electricity poles were uprooted in the coastal areas.
New Delhi: Over 1.5 lakh people were evacuated from low-lying areas along India s western coast as a powerful Cyclone Tauktae is expected to make landfall in Gujarat by Monday (May 17, 2021) evening.
Cyclone Tauktae to hit Gujarat on Monday evening, Mumbai shuts airport for two hours
Nearly 25,000 residents were evacuated from the low-lying areas between Porbandar and Mahuva in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district ahead of the landfall. 4 hours ago An Indian Air Force plane deployed to carry NDRF personnel to Ahmedabad as part of preparations for Cyclone Tauktae. | PTI
Cyclonic storm Tauktae, which was categorised as “extremely severe”, moved north-northwestwards and was centred on Monday morning over the Arabian Sea near the coasts of Mumbai and Gujarat, the India Meteorological Department said.
The weather department said that the cyclonic storm was very likely to reach the Gujarat coast on Monday evening and cross “between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district)” later on the same night around 8.30 pm.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that Cyclone Tauktae will take an extreme shape in the east central Arabian Sea by Monday night, with wind speed reaching 180-190 kmph gusting to 210 kmph likely to prevail during the next six hours. The agency has warned of tidal waves of upto 3 meters hitting the coasts of Amreli, Gir Somnath, Diu and Bhavnagar of Gujarat. The IMD said that gale wind speed reaching 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph is prevailing over adjoining northeast Arabian Sea. It would gradually increase becoming 170-180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph from forenoon for subsequent 12 hours and decrease thereafter.
Cyclone Tauktae turns extremely severe
Cyclone Tauktae turns extremely severe
Last Updated: Mon, May 17th, 2021, 10:12:54hrs
New Delhi: Cyclone Tauktae which intensified into a extremely severe cyclonic storm early this morning is currently 160 km south-southwest of Mumbai and is very likely to reach the Gujarat coast this evening with gusts of up to 200 km per hour, the weather department has said.
Thousands have been evacuated from low-lying areas between Porbandar and Mahuva in Gujarat s Bhavnagar district in anticipation of Tauktae making landfall later today. Officials are bracing for very heavy rainfall and a maximum sustained surface windspeed of up to 190 km per hour. Warnings are also in place in Junagarh, Gir Somnath and Amreli.