Cyclone Tauktae crosses the Gujarat coast, weakens
Cyclone Tauktae - the monstrous cyclonic storm that hit India over the past few days - made landfall in Gujarat around 8:30 pm on Monday, bringing winds with speed up to 165 kilometer per hour and gusts up to 190 kilometer per hour. The landfall ended around midnight. Remnants of the storm are expected to be seen across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh.
Heavy rainfall is expected today as well
Diu, near Gujarat, saw winds with speed up to 133 kilometer per hour. Extremely heavy rainfall is expected over Saurashtra and Diu on Tuesday as well. Some parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh may also receive heavy rainfall. Earlier, in anticipation of the landfall, the Gujarat government had shifted over one lakh people living in coastal areas to safer regions.
6 died in Maharashtra, nine were injured
In Maharashtra, the storm led to the death of six people while nine were injured. State Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reviewed the situation and his office said that vehicular movement was being restored after the removal of fallen trees and electric poles. In state capital Mumbai, flights were suspended for several hours and the iconic Bandra-Worli sea-link also remained shut for traffic.
8 died in Karnataka, 7 in Kerala
In neighboring Goa, power supply was disrupted and over 100 houses were reportedly damaged. In Karnataka, eight people died due to incidents related to the storm and 121 villages in seven districts were affected. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted on Monday that seven people had died due to the storm and close to 1,500 houses were destroyed.
'Cyclone to weaken into a depression by end of today'
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has downgraded the cyclone from "extremely severe" to "very severe." "The system is expected to weaken into the 'Cyclonic Storm' by afternoon hours of Tuesday and further weaken into a depression by the end of the day," a senior official reportedly said. However, heavy rain is expected throughout Tuesday over Amreli, Anand, South Ahmedabad, Gir Somnath, and Junagarh districts.
Heavy rainfall expected over Delhi, other areas tomorrow
Even as the intensity of the storm will reduce, it is expected to bring heavy rainfall over national capital Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the weather department. Besides the rain, these states will also witness thunderstorms, lightning, and hailstorms, along with gusty winds with speed up to 50 kilometer per hour.
