The cyclone, which is classified as “very strong”, hit the coast in the western Indian state of Gujarat with wind speeds of up to 160 km/h. This is reported by BBC.
Cyclone Tauktae killed at least 12 people and thousands were evacuated.
Tauktae is expected to be the strongest cyclone to hit the region since 1998, and both Gujarat and the neighboring state of Maharashtra are on high alert.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were deployed in both states.
Rain from the storm killed six people in Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa over the weekend as the cyclone moved along the west coast. Six others were killed on Monday in the state of Maharashtra.
Homes were destroyed and electricity was cut off in several areas of these states.
The weather bureau reported that the wind blows at a speed of up to 185 km / h, and in some coastal areas, storm surges of waves up to 4 m are possible.
The cyclone occurred against the background of the second wave of COVID-19, which swept the Indian health system. Although the number of Covid cases is declining in both states, the devastating effects of the second wave in India are still being felt.
More than 150 thousand people in low-lying areas have already been transferred to shelters, raising concerns about possible new accumulations of the coronavirus in the coming weeks. In addition, the federal government has ordered a halt to vaccinations in several coastal cities deemed to be at risk.
The storm is also exacerbating the problems facing India’s hospitals. In Mumbai, 580 patients with coronavirus have already been transferred from specialized centers to city hospitals as a preventive measure.
Officials advised people to stay indoors-they expect flooded roads, damaged power lines, and uprooted trees.
Thousands of fishing boats returned to the harbor, and hundreds of merchant ships were asked to change their route.
