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.
In its latest update, 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.The cyclone hit the coast between Diu and Una around 9 pm on Monday and ended around midnight, the IMD said.
The authorities had moved over 200,000 people in Gujarat from their homes to safer locations and shut ports and major airports before the cyclone hit the Gujarat coast.
The landfall process started with the entry of the “forward sector of the eye of the cyclone” into the land near the Union Territory of Diu with a wind speed of between 150 and 175 km per hour, IMD officials said.
The cyclone brought gusty winds and heavy rains on the entire coastal belt, uprooting trees in Junagadh, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts, said district officials.
The regional meteorological centre said the cyclone will move towards northern Gujarat.
“It will move towards Amreli district and then towards Banaskantha after crossing Surendranagar district. We expect it will weaken as it moves forward,” an official said.
While there are no reports of any human injury or death, gusty winds coupled with heavy rain uprooted several trees and electricity towers on the coastal belt, another official said.
The cyclone winds also caused road blockage and power outages in many villages of these districts.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had reached the State Control Room on Monday in Gandhinagar to get the latest situation of #CycloneTauktae and review the situation of the state including the coastal districts, by video conference with the collectors.
A major cyclone in Gujarat on June 9, 1998, had brought widespread death and destruction in its wake, particularly in the port town of Kandla.
While official figures had then put the death toll at 1,173, adding 1,774 went missing, media reports, eyewitness and volunteer accounts suggested that this was grossly an understatement.
