Cyclone Tauktae

Cyclone  Tauktae crosses Gujarat coast, weakens after landfall:

Cyclone Tauktae updates: A severe cyclonic storm made landfall on India’s west coast, home to major refineries and ports, causing heavy rain and strong winds at a time when the nation is already battling the world’s worst outbreak of Covid-19.

Cyclone Tauktae, equivalent of a category 3 hurricane, slammed Gujarat state late on Monday, with wind speed surging as high as 190 kilometers (118 miles) per hour, according to the India Meteorological Department. The landfall process will be completed in three hours, the national weather forecaster said in a statement, reported Bloomberg.

Heavy downpours in some areas, including in the financial hub of Mumbai, will continue for the next 12 hours, while sea waves of as high as 4 metres above normal tides are likely to inundate some coastal places, said the weather office.

Navy rescues 132 people

The Navy has rescued 132 people on board a barge that went adrift in the Arabia Sea near Mumbai hours before Tauttake made landfall in Gujarat, PTI reported quoting an official. The Navy had deployed three of its frontline warships after receiving messages to rescue 410 people on board two barges off the Mumbai coast on Monday.

Tauktae weakens after landfall in Gujarat: IMD

Tauktae's landfall ended around 12 am on Tuesday after it hit the Gujarat coast in Saurashtra between Diu and Una around 9 pm, said the India Meteorological Department. There is no report of any casualty, PTI reported quoting unnamed government officials. Gujarat shifted more than two lakh people before the cyclone.

The landfall process of the eye of extremely severe cyclonic storm Tauktae, which hit the Gujarat coast in Saurashtra region between Diu and Una, ended around midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.

State officials said there are no reports of any casualty due to the tropical storm 'Tauktae' (pronounced as Tau'Te), adding it has weakened.

The IMD also announced that the cyclone has weakened into a 'very severe cyclonic storm' from the 'extremely severe cyclonic storm'.

"The entire eye of the cyclone has now crossed the coast and lies over land. The rear sector of the eye is now entering the land," the IMD said in a tweet after midnight.

Landfall is the storm moving over the land after its intensification in the ocean (heat source). A cyclone is said to make landfall when the centre of the storm (eye) moves across the coast.

The landfall brings with it high-speed winds, severe storm surge and torrential downpour. The storm usually weakens rapidly after landfall as the ocean heat and moisture that fuels it are no longer available.

The cyclone hit the coast between Diu and Una around 9 pm on Monday and ended around midnight, the IMD said.