The severe cyclonic storm ‘Tauktae’ has intensified into a ‘very severe’ cyclonic storm, triggering heavy rains in various parts of the country. The cyclone is likely to intensify further in the next 24 hours.

CYCLONE TAUKTAE UPDATES:

11:00 pm: On Sunday evening, parts of Madhya Pradesh including Ujjain, Bhopal, Khandwa and others saw heavy rainfall and strong winds. As a result of this, many trees have fallen and tin sheds have flown off.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, there is a cloud band over a large part of Madhya Pradesh due to the cyclone.

Bhopal Meteorological Department has forecast rain and thundershowers in Satna and Rewa districts of the state apart from Ujjain, Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Sagar, Gwalior and other places.

9:30 pm: Seventy houses, two anganwadis, a primary school and a gram panchayat office have been damaged due to cyclonic winds in Bhorgiri and Bhivegaon villages of Khed tehsil in Pune.

9:25 pm: As per the IMD, Cyclone Tauktae is now about 190 km northwest of Panjim-Goa, 270 km
south-southwest of Mumbai, 510 km south-southeast of Veraval (Gujarat).

It is likely to intensify further in the next 24 hours

8:40 pm: Cloud bands are moving towards Mumbai. The city is likely to experience moderate rainfall and winds.

8:10 pm: More than 50 national disaster response force (NDRF) teams are being deployed in Gujarat, said NDRF Director General SN Pradhan.

“Some people have died in Tamil Nadu due to wall collapse and electrocution. Some people have died in Karnataka too. We’re working on evacuation and awareness generation,” he stated.

7:30 pm: As rainfall continues in Kerala, several parts of Alappuzha are experiencing waterlogging. Water has entered houses in the low-lying areas of Mankombu, Thekkekara, Vejpara and Poovam.

7:20 pm: Due to the cyclone, the Covid-19 vaccination drive in Gujarat is on hold for two day on May 17 and 18.

7:15 pm: The IMD has issued an orange alert to Gujarat and Diu coasts on account of the very severe cyclonic storm.

Cyclone Tauktae is very likely to intensify further in the next 24 hours. It is likely to move north- northwestwards and reach the Gujarat coast in the evening hours of May 17. The cyclone will likely cross the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) in the early morning hours of May 18.

6:20 pm: Goa airport has been closed.

6:00 pm: In Goa, two people have died so far due to Cyclone Tauktae. In one incident, a huge tree fell on a person and in the other, an electric pole fell on a biker. The toll may increase, said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday.

More than 100 houses have been damaged badly and another 100 have received minor damage. Over 500 trees have fallen down.

At present, most of Goa does not have electricity and many roads are blocked. The CM said it will take two days to restore things. Heavy rains and high winds are expected to continue in the state till May 17.

5:45 pm: According to the IMD, the latest centre position of the cyclonic storm was 16.6N 72.6E, 490 kilometres south-southeast of Diu at 4:30 pm.

4:40 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his high-level video conference, directed officials of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Daman & Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli to make adequate power backup arrangements in all Covid hospitals, labs, vaccine cold chain and other medical facilities.

Shah also advised them to ensure adequate stocks of all essential medicines and supplies in hospitals, keeping in view likely disruption of vehicular movement.

He said a 24×7 control room is functioning in the Ministry of Home Affairs, which can be contacted at any time for any assistance by the states. Indian Coast Guard, the Navy, Army and Air Force units have also been put on standby.

4:20 pm: The dialysis unit of Manipal Hospital in Goa has been affected by the cyclone. The hospital has sent an SMS to its patients informing them of the damage. Manipal Hospital will not be able to administer dialysis for the next one week. Patients have been asked to book slots at nearby hospitals and contact Manipal technicians in case of an emergency.

Meanwhile, a disaster management meeting is underway at the collector’s office in Mapusa, Goa.

3:40 pm: All airlines have cancelled their flight operation to and from Goa for today due to the prevalent weather conditions in the state. Goa is witnessing heavy rain and wind as the state reels under the impact of very severe cyclonic storm ‘Tauktae’.

3:15 pm: A road leading to TB hospital in Margao was blocked due to fall of two to three heavy trees, cutting off supplies to the hospital. The Goa team is carrying out the road clearance work amid heavy rain.

2:37 pm: The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 79 teams in states that are likely to be under the impact of cyclone Tauktae. 22 additional teams are also being kept in readiness.

Rescue and relief teams of the Army, Navy and Coast Guard, along with ships and aircrafts have also been deployed to deal with the situation arising out of cyclone Tauktae.

2:00 pm: According to IMD, very severe cyclonic storm ‘Tauktae’ has intensified further in last three hours. The eye of the cyclone is now clearly observed in the INSAT-3D satellite imagery at 11:30 am.

1:06 pm Cyclone Tauktae has intensified into a “very severe cyclonic storm” and is approaching the Gujarat coast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday. “Very severe cyclonic storm ‘Tauktae’ has intensified further in last 3 hours. The eye of the cyclone is now observed in the INSAT-3D satellite imagery at 11:30 IST. The diameter of eye is roughly 4 km with eye temperature -5.2°C. The wall cloud top temperature is -93°C,” the IMD said.

1:03 pm Home Minister Amit Shah meeting with Maharashtra CM and Gujarat CM ends.

12:40 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah chairs a review meeting with the chief ministers of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Administrator of Daman & Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, to assess preparedness of states and Union Territories as well as Central ministries and agencies concerned to deal cyclone Tauktae.

12:00 pm: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is in a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss Maharashtra’s preparedness for cyclone Tauktae.