EYE ON THE STORM

Cyclone Tauktae intensified from a very severe to an extremely severe cycl storm rapidly on Monday morning, taking weather experts by surprise

TAUKTAE’S LANDFALL

Cyclone Tauktae barrelled through the country’s western coast, making landfall in Gujarat at around 8.30pm on Monday after leaving a trail of destruction in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. The landfall process was to take about four hours, scientists said late on Monday. “On Monday morning, it intensified to an extremely severe cyclonic storm, but it weakened marginally during landfall,” said Sunitha Devi from IMD.

MUMBAI, GUJARAT HIT

In Maharashtra, Mumbai was among the worst-hit cities with wind speeds of up to 114kmph, causing the suspension of operations at the city’s airport and flooding many parts of the city. Electricity poles and trees were uprooted and buildings damaged in many coastal areas across state. The cyclone began making landfall on Gujarat's Saurashtra coast near Diu on Monday night, forcing the evacuation of over 200,000 people in Gujarat and leaving many missing.