Cyclone Tauktae, the biggest to hit the region in decades, made landfall in Gujarat at around 8.30 pm on Monday, packing winds with speeds of 155-165 kilometres per hour, gusting to 190 km/hour. As per official figure so far 3 died in Gujarat
More than 90 people are missing after a barge off the coast of India’s Mumbai city sank amid a severe cyclone.
The Indian navy said it had rescued 177 of the 270 people aboard and that efforts to find survivors were ongoing.
Three other commercial barges carrying about 700 people are stranded at sea in the wake of cyclone Tauktae, which has battered India’s western coast.
Initially classified as “extremely severe”, the cyclone made landfall in Gujarat state late on Monday with wind speeds of up to 160km/h (100mph).
It narrowly missed Mumbai, but the barges adrift off the city’s coast were unable to return to the harbour on time.
Winds have ravaged coastal areas in the western state of Gujarat, uprooting trees and electricity poles. In Saurashtra district, electricity supply has been cut as a precautionary measure.
About 200,000 people were evacuated across several states as the cyclone approached, bringing with it heavy rains and gusty winds.
The storm has hit the region amid a devastating second wave of Covid-19 that has overwhelmed Indian hospitals.
In Mumbai on Monday witnessed the highest-ever wind speed of 114 kilometres per hour
Six people died and nine were injured as the storm brushed past Maharashtra. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took a review of the damage caused by the cyclone.
His office tweeted that vehicular movement was being restored after removing trees and electric poles that fell due to gusty winds.
In Karnataka, eight people died due to cyclone-related incidents.
According to a report by Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, 121 villages in seven districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Belagavi have been affected by the cyclone. I
In Kerala, seven people died and nearly 1,500 houses were damaged, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted late Monday.