AIRPORT CLOSED, POWER OUTAGES ACROSS MUMBAI
MUMBAI: Cyclone Tauktae, an extremely severe cyclonic storm (ESCS) that passed Mumbai shortly after noon on Monday, was the worst cyclone to have skirted the city in at least four decades, leading to a cancellation of flights, bringing sections of the public transportation network to a halt, and disrupting the work-from-home schedules of residents due to power cuts and poor cellphone connectivity.
NEW DELHI: Tauktae made landfall around 8.30pm on Monday as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm”, said IMD. Thereafter, it moved north north-westwards and crossed the Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva (in Bhavnagar district), east of Diu, with a maximum wind speed of up to 185 kmph.
The speed at the centre, or “eye” of the storm, was up to 190 kmph. “We could say that its intensity is bordering on ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’, and it matches the forecasts we made,” said Sunitha Devi who studies cyclones at IMD. She said IMD predicted Tauktae will be a “very severe cyclone” ever since a low-pressure area formed over the Arabian Sea. “This morning it intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm, but it weakened marginally during landfall.”
Gale winds with speeds up to 90 kmph blew along the south Gujarat, Daman and Diu coasts when the cyclone hit land. Diu reported wind speed of 110 kmph. But speeds were likely to go up to 185 km/hr off the Gujarat coast and places like Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Gir Somnath districts. In Bharuch, Anand, south Ahmedabad, and Botad, wind speed will be up to 165 km/hr, IMD said.