Cyclone Tauktae intensifies as it approaches Gujarat, state evacuates low-lying areas

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New Delhi: The Gujarat administration on Tuesday (May 17) evacuated around 1 lakh people from the coastal areas following the possibility of Cyclone Tauktae arriving by afternoon.

Tauktae, gathering momentum, is right now around 350 kilometres away from the state. Around 8 to 10 in the evening, it is likely to hit Porbandar between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. The Gujarat administration claims to be fully prepared to tackle the situation.

Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), revenue department, Pankaj Kumar said that 95,485 people from 655 low lying and coastal areas have been evacuated and shifted to safer places.

Cyclone Tauktae, which has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the East-central Arabian Sea, moved North-Northwestwards with a speed of about 20 kmph during the past six hours and further intensified into an "extremely severe cyclonic storm on Monday, informed the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

A total of 41 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed in the state and three teams have been kept on reserve. Moreover, 10 teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have also been deployed.

"Looking at the prevailing Corona outbreak crisis, 1,383 power backup have been created. 161 ICU ambulances and 576 of 108-ambulances are in the service," informed ACS Kumar, according to news agency IANS.

To fulfill the oxygen requirements and easy transportation of oxygen, the state government has created 35 green corridors. To drain excess water, 456 dewatering pumps have been facilitated.

As a precautionary measure 2,126 hoardings in urban areas of coastal regions and 643 hoardings from rural areas have been pulled down. Apart from removing 668 temporary structures.

IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra informed that cyclone Tauktae is very likely to cross the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva in Bhavnagar district around the early morning of May 18.

He further said that heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to occur in coastal areas of Gujarat on May 18.

(With inputs from news agencies)