TAUKTAE MAKES LANDFALL
MUMBAI: Cylcone 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.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed that Tauktae began crossing Mumbai’s latitude at about 12.37pm on Monday, at a distance of about 120-130km from the coast. Independent experts said the cyclone, which intensified into an extremely severe storm early on Monday, was likely the first such category of storm to venture this close to the port city since 1891. By comparison, cyclone Nisarga, a severe cyclonic storm (a category of lesser intensity) that made landfall in the state’s Raigad district last June, glanced 110 km off Mumbai’s coast, but left the city largely unscathed.
“It can be safely assumed that in the satellite era -- from 1980 onwards -- Tauktae is the most intense tropical cyclone to venture so close to Mumbai. It is a Category 4 system, as per global standards of the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre whereas Nisarga was a significantly weaker Category 1 tropical cyclone, which in turn had also become weaker by the time it made landfall at the Diveagar coast in Maharashtra,” Akshay Deoras, an independent meteorologist associated with the University of Reading, United Kingdom, said.
“In November 1948, a severe cyclone had landfall north of Mumbai. The IMD doesn’t mention in their cyclone dataset whether it was an ESCS, but it was probably not. So, if that’s ruled out, Tauktae is the first ESCS to come so close to Mumbai since 1891. It is significant because it may be sooner than 100 years before such an incident happens again,” said Matthew Roxy Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
Impact of the storm
When it achieved peak intensity off the Mumbai coast, the cyclone itself was travelling at a speed of 120 knots, or 222kmph, as it travelled north-westward toward Gujarat, unleashing gale winds touching upwards of 100kmph in the city.
Tauktae’s intensity was felt across the city as residents shared videos of fallen trees, broken power cables and choppy waves in the Arabian Sea as wind speeds of 114 km/hour were reported at around 2pm by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s weather station at Afghan Church in Colaba.
Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport closed all flight operations starting 11am on Monday and diverted at least seven planes. Airlines cancelled services to Mumbai and the airport resumed services late on Monday. During the day, nearly 20 local trains were cancelled and 50 delayed owing to the disruption due to water-logging and tree falls.