Cyclone Tauktae: 410 stranded on barges near Mumbai, Navy to the rescue; Army puts 180 teams on standby

Two barges with 410 persons on board have gone adrift off the Mumbai coast as the cyclonic storm 'Tauktae' over the Arabian Sea intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm and is expected to reach Gujarat coast Monday evening, officials said.

"On receipt of a request for assistance for Barge 'P305' adrift off Heera Oil Fields in Bombay High area with 273 personnel onboard, warship INS Kochi was sailed with a despatch for Search and Rescue (SAR) assistance," a Navy spokesperson said.

The oil fields are around 70 km southwest of Mumbai.

"Several other ships have been readied for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) tasking in the wake of Cyclone Tauktae that has wreaked havoc along the West coast of India," he said.

"In response to another SOS received from Barge 'GAL Constructor' with 137 people onboard about 8 nautical miles from Mumbai, warship INS Kolkata has been sailed with despatch to render assistance," the spokesperson said.

As the cyclone raged past the Maharashtra coast and inched closer to Mumbai Monday morning, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport announced the suspension of operations from 11 am to 2 pm.

A red alert has been sounded in the adjoining Raigad district and an orange alert has been declared in Mumbai.

The monorail services in Mumbai have been suspended for the day. Local trains services of the Central Railway were disrupted between suburban Ghatkopar and Vikhroli.

Gale-force winds, heavy rainfall and high tidal waves swept the coastal belts of Maharashtra and Goa as Cyclone Tauktae hurtled northwards towards Gujarat.

The cyclonic storm will intensify further and reach the Gujarat coast by Monday evening, the India Meteorological Department said.

"The very severe cyclonic storm 'Tauktae' (pronounced as Tau'Te) over the east central Arabian Sea moved north- north-westwards with a speed of about 20 kmph during past six hours, intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm," the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said

"It is very likely to move north-north-westwards and reach Gujarat coast in the evening hours of 17th and cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) during the night (2000-2300 hours IST) of May 17 as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph," it added.

Over one lakh people have been shifted from low-lying coastal areas in Gujarat, while 54 teams of the NDRF and SDRF remained deployed after IMD's warning that Tauktae will reach the state coast by Monday evening and cross it between 8 pm and 11 pm, the IMD said.

At least 17 COVID-19 patients on ventilator support in the Porbandar Civil Hospital's ICU were shifted to other facilities on Monday as a precautionary measure in view of cyclone Tauktae which is heading towards the Gujarat coast, an official said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday took stock of the situation in Mumbai, Thane and other coastal districts of the state in the wake of the cyclonic storm.

As Mumbai continued to be battered with heavy rains, over 12,000 citizens were relocated to safer places from the coastal areas. These include 8,380 people in Raigad, 3,896 in Ratnagiri and 144 in Sindhudurg districts.

The Indian Coast Guard said it rescued 12 fishermen stranded around 35 nautical miles off the Kochi coast amid rough seas due to the cyclone on the night of May 16.

On Monday, Mumbaikars woke up witnessing gusty winds and heavy showers due to the cyclone. Many Mumbaikars are enjoying the change in weather amid the coronavirus pandemic.

One Twitter user posted the iconic scene of Ajay Devgn's debut film Phool Aur Kaante where he stole hearts balancing in two bikes. The social media user captioned it, "Mumbaikers trying to handle #CycloneTauktae and Corona at the same time."

The Indian Army said on Monday it has put 180 teams and nine engineer task forces on standby to face any contingency as Cyclone Tauktae is likely to hit the Gujarat coast on Monday evening.


"Sector commanders and Divisional HQ (headquarter) are in touch with District Collectors and the Revenue Commissioner who is the nodal agency for relief activities in Gujarat," the Army said in a statement.

The Army said it has identified likely areas -- talukas as well as districts -- where the impact could be higher and it has geared up its columns to react immediately.

"Focus is to save lives, speedy clearance of routes to ensure movement of oxygen and standby arrangements at COVID hospitals," it mentioned.

Gale-force winds, heavy rainfall and high tidal waves swept the coastal belts of Maharashtra and Goa as Cyclone Tauktae hurtled northwards towards Gujarat.

The cyclonic storm will intensify further and reach the Gujarat coast by Monday evening, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The Army said it is continuously monitoring the situation for likely intensity, maximum impact areas and anticipated relief effort in coordination with civil administration, IMD, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and other agencies.

The cyclone's maximum impact is likely to be in Saurashtra region, including Diu.

Ten integrated teams are poised to be employed for aid to the civil administration of Diu, the Army said.

It said 10 teams have already been positioned in the Junagadh area while others are ready to move on short notice of the state administration after analysis of situation as it builds up.

"GOC (General Officer Commanding) of the Army Division located at Ahmedabad attended a coordination meeting chaired by the Honourable Chief Minister of Gujarat and has assured all support," the Army noted.

At this meeting, it was discussed that all efforts should be made to open the roads at the earliest as Gujarat is a critical supplier of oxygen from its ports to outside state destinations.

The Army said it is providing assistance in creating power back up and making preparations for other contingencies at COVID Hospitals in the affected region including Dhanvantri COVID Hospital in Ahmedabad.

"180 teams (three teams in each column) and 09 engineer task forces (ETFs) spread over the geographical area are on standby at short notice factoring in all possible contingencies and COVID situation," it noted.

Rough winds and battering rain took a toll on the Goa government's Covid facilities, even as a newly inaugurated super speciality block housing Covid patients got flooded.

Some amount of damage was also caused to the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee indoor stadium, which is being utilised as a Covid care centre and houses Covid patients with mild symptoms.

"Appalling to watch water pouring in the #CovidWard of newly opened Super Speciality Block at GMC. Shocked to see front glass facade of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium which is now #COVIDCareCentre blown away by winds. Fix responsibilities & bring those responsible to justice," Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat tweeted.

Videos of water logging at the super speciality hospital, where several hundred Covid patients are admitted have also gone viral.

Reacting to the criticism, Sawant said that Goa had never witnessed a cyclone of such intensity and that the damage caused by the wind and rain was being addressed.

Cyclone Tauktae had its impact in Rajasthan as four people, including three kids in the age group of 10-12 years and a 46-year-old man lost their lives on Sunday night after lightning struck them when they were plucking mangoes from the mango trees, officials said on Monday.

A severe storm had left the town devastated on Sunday night with trees uprooted and power lines snapped due to Cyclone Tauktae.

The state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh for each victim's family, said Dungarpur district collector Suresh Kumar Ola who appealed to the residents of the city to stay indoors in the wake of the cyclone hitting the state and a forecast of heavy rainfall by the met department.

Officials said the weather in Dungarpur changed by Sunday evening and an intense storm lashed the city along with heavy rainfall.

Heavy rain was also recorded in Udaipur and Kota divisions in the last 24 hours while the heaviest rainfall was recorded in Dungarpur district at 21 mm, said the met department.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in a tweet expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa and the Lt Governor of Daman and Diu over their preparedness to deal with severe cyclonic storm Tauktae.

In a telephonic conversation with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Daman and Diu Lt Governor Praful Patel, he took stock of situation and preparedness to deal with the cyclonic storm if it impacts these states and the UT, more than what was expected.

The Prime Minister also assured all possible Central assistance to these states and the UT, informing that the National Disaster Response Forces (NDRF) teams are also active in relief and rescue operations.

With agencies input