Cyclone Tauktae, the biggest one to hit the western states in decades, made landfall in Gujarat at around 8.30 pm on Monday.
“Extremely severe” Cyclone Tauktae caused devastating winds to reach speeds up to 190 kilometres per hour as it made landfall in Gujarat, damaging structures, electricity lines, and uprooting trees.
Four people were killed in Gujarat as the cyclone left behind a trail of destruction along the western coast. Six people died and nine were injured as the storm brushed past Maharashtra. In Karnataka, eight people died due to cyclone-related incidents. In Kerala, seven people died and nearly 1,500 houses were damaged.
Cyclone Tauktae, the biggest one to hit the western states in decades, made landfall in Gujarat at around 8.30 pm on Monday. The wind speeds reached from 155-165 kilometres per hour, gusting to 190 km/hour. The weather office, after the landfall had concluded around midnight, downgraded the storm from ‘extremely severe’ to ‘very severe’. In a tweet, it later informed that the cyclone was weakening further.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took a review of the damage caused by the cyclone. Vehicular movement was being restored after removing trees and electric poles that fell due to gusty winds, his office tweeted.
Maharashtra capital witnessed the highest-ever wind speed of 114 kilometres per hour. As heavy rainfall pummeled the city, flight operations remained shut for hours. The Bandra-Worli sea-link was also closed down for traffic because of strong winds, which damaged many structures in the city. Waterlogging was also reported from low-lying areas.
After the India Meteorological Department issued warnings of tidal waves and flooding, the Gujarat government had shifted over a lakh people living in coastal areas to safer places. The weather office said extremely heavy downpour over the southern districts of Saurashtra and Diu is expected on Tuesday as well. It has issued an orange alert for heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh. Some parts of Uttar Pradesh may also receive rainfall.
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