LIVE updates from Cyclone Tauktae: The state government in a statement said that more than a lakh people were transferred to safer temporary shelters from 655 vulnerable villages in 17 districts as of Monday night
Rough sea weather conditions due to the formation of Cyclone Tauktae in the Arabian Sea at Thiruvananthapuram. PTI
Cyclone Tauktae LATEST news and updates: Cyclone Tauktae, which has now intensified into an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”, is likely to hit the coast of Gujarat on Monday night and cross the coast of the state between 9 pm and 11.30 pm, said the IMD.
As a precautionary measure, the state administration moved more than a lakh of people living in coastal areas of 17 districts to safer locations until Sunday night, and work resumed on Monday morning, the government said in a release.
According to the State Emergency Operations Center, in the 24-hour period ending at 6 am on Monday, 84 talukas from 21 Gujarat districts received light rains, mainly due to cyclonic disturbances.
Six talukas received more than an inch of rain, he said.
According to the latest bulletin from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Tauktae has further intensified to become an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”.
“It is very likely to move to the north-northwest and reach the Gujarat coast in the evening hours of (May) 17 and cross the state coast between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) during the night (2000 hrs -2300 hrs IST) with a maximum sustained wind speed of 155-165 km / h with gusts up to 185 km / h, “said IMD.
The cyclone will cause light to moderate rains in many parts of the state, heavy to very heavy rains in some places, and extremely heavy downpours in isolated locations over the southern districts of the Saurashtra, Diu, and Gujarat region on Monday and Tuesday, IMD said. . .
Sea conditions will remain “phenomenal” through Tuesday morning before improving, he said.
The state government in a statement said that more than one lakh of people were transferred to safer temporary shelters from 655 vulnerable villages in 17 districts as of Monday night.
Various teams from departments such as forests, roads and buildings, health, income, and electricity have been deployed to immediately address the damage caused by the cyclone, he said.
In addition, 41 teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also been deployed along with 10 teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Three NDRF teams have been kept in reserve, according to the statement.
Special arrangements have been made in hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients to ensure electricity backup in case of a power outage due to cyclone.
Arrangements have also been made for 161 ICU ambulances and 576 ambulances from the ‘108’ service to transfer patients in an emergency, he said.
The state government has also created 35 green corridors to facilitate the transportation of medical oxygen for needy patients in Gujarat.
Drain pumps have also been installed in low-lying areas to eliminate flooding.
Local administrations have removed 2,126 billboards in urban areas and 643 in rural areas, as well as 668 temporary structures, to avoid any threat they cause to people’s lives, the government said.
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