Four people were killed and 73 villages destroyed in six districts of Karnataka due to Cyclone Tauktae, according to state disaster management authority on Sunday. Out of these six districts, three are coastal and three belong to the hilly region of the state in Western Ghats, the KSDMA further said.
Meanwhile, the cyclone is expected to continue moving north-northwest, according to the India Meteorological Department. It added that by late afternoon, its centre would be north-northwest of Goa.
Gale winds and rain will continue for almost the entire day as a result of Cyclone Tauktae’s impact, according to the IMD, which earlier on Sunday issued a statement confirming that the storm had intensified into a “very severe cyclonic storm.”
“The Severe Cyclonic Storm Tauktae over eastcentral Arabian Sea moved nearly northwards with a speed of about 09 kmph during past 06 hours, intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm and lay centred at 0230 hours IST of today, May 16, 2021 over eastcentral Arabian Sea near latitude 14.7°N and longitude 72.7°E, about 150 km southwest of Panjim-Goa, 490 km south of Mumbai, 730 km south-southeast of Veraval (Gujarat) and 870 km south-southeast of Karachi (Pakistan),” the IMD said in the statement.
According to the IMD, light to moderate rainfall will begin over coastal districts of Saurashtra on May 16 afternoon, with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated locations over Saurashtra, Kutch, and Diu, and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated locations on May 17 and 18.
The IMD warned that the sea conditions over the east central Arabian Sea on May 16 would be very high to phenomenal, and over the northeast Arabian Sea on May 17 and 18, and advised fishermen to stay away from the waters.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level meeting in New Delhi to assess the preparedness of states and central agencies to deal with the aftermath of Cyclone ‘Tauktae.’
In preparation for the cyclone, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has kept 16 transport aircraft and 18 helicopters operational.
