Cyclone Tauktae Updates: Nearly 80 missing as barge P305 sinks into Arabian Sea, says Indian Navy; rescue ops underway

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Tamil Nadu minister meets kin of 9 missing fishermen

Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan Tuesday visited the families of nine fishermen who went missing while fishing off the Kochi coast due to Cyclone Tauktae.

The fishermen, all belonging to Samnathanpettaiin Nagapattinam district, ventured into the sea from Kochi on April 29 and while returning in the early hours of May 14, were caught in the storm and went missing.

The Coast Guard and Indian Navy are engaged in search operations, and all possible efforts are being made to trace them, the minister said. The minister also handed over Rs 50,000 to each family as financial assistance from the DMK party funds.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Cyclone kills five in Thane and Palghar districts

Five persons were killed in Thane and Palghar districts in various incidents related to cyclonic storm Tauktae, officials said on Tuesday. While two persons were killed in Vasai taluka, three others died in Thane district, they said, reports PTI.

The deceased included a 51-year-old auto-rickshaw driver who was killed after a tree fell on his vehicle in Valiv area of Palghar district on Monday, police said. Besides, a 40-year-old man died after being crushed by cement blocks that fell from the roof of a house due to high winds in Valiv area, they said.

In Thane, a 75-year-old woman was killed after a tree collapsed on her house in Kashimira area due to heavy rains, police said.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

3 dead, 10 injured in Mumbai

Cyclonic storm Tauktae claimed three lives and left 10 others injured in Mumbai over the last 24 hours when it passed close to the city coast, civic officials said on Tuesday, reports PTI

The sea here has been very rough due to the impact of the cyclone and the huge tidal waves on Monday dumped tonnes of garbage at chowpatties, Marine Drive and the iconic Gateway of India in Mumbai, they said.

Videos of huge tidal waves lashing the Gateway of Mumbai area went viral on social media platforms where people also shared images of the trail of destruction left by the cyclonic storm at some of the prominent monuments here.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said due to the precautions taken by the city civic body, the jumbo COVID-19 facility set up at the Bandra-Kurla Complex did not suffer many major damage, except that its cover was torn at some places and some iron sheets were blown away.

The cyclonic storm claimed two lives in separate boat accidents at Mahim and Madh jetties here, as per an update issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Wall, footpath near Gateway of India damaged

Cyclonic storm Tauktae damaged a sea-facing safety wall and iron gates near the iconic Gateway of India here and some jetty stones in the vicinity also got dislodged due to its impact, civic officials said on Tuesday. The main structure of the historic monument did not suffer any damage, but a portion of the footpath near it caved-in, they said.

Huge tidal waves in the Arabian Sea threw heaps of garbage at the monument, which is a major tourist attraction, as the cyclonic storm passed close to the Mumbai coast on Monday, they said.

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said they picked up four trucks of garbage from the premises of the monument in south Mumbai after the cyclonic storm subsided.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Massive rescue operations after cyclone sinks barge, leaves oil rig adrift

Navy vessels, tug boats and rescue ships were pressed into service on Monday to evacuate over 500 people stuck on an oil rig and barges in the high sea off the Mumbai coast after a cyclone ripped through it. The cyclone sank a barge that had living quarters for employees working offshore, while two other construction barges lost anchors and drifted away.

The three barges, which were deployed by Afcons for a contract the company had got from ONGC, had 599 workers on board when the cyclone hit, official sources said. Besides the barges, one drilling rig of ONGC, ‘Sagar Bhushan’, with 101 people on board (37 ONGC employees and 64 contractual workers), too drifted away from its location.

Indian Navy ships – INS Kochi and INS Kolkata, Coast Guard vessel ICG Samarth, tug boat of Afcons and offshore supply vessels of ONGC have been pressed into service to rescue those stranded on the barges and the rig. Out of 261 people on Barge ‘Papaa-305’ – the worst hit by the cyclone and high sea swell – 182 have so far been rescued, they said.

Attempts are being made to trace and rescue the remaining, they said. All the 137 persons onboard barge ‘Gal Constructor’, which runs aground about 48 nautical miles north of Mumbai’s Colaba Point, are safe and in the process of being evacuated.

-PTI

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Navy rescues 177 from barge; rescuees land in Mumbai

Battling extreme weather, the Indian Navy has so far rescued 177 people on board a barge that went adrift in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai hours before Cyclone Tauktae made landfall on the Gujarat coast, an official said on Tuesday.

Navy ships were deployed on Monday after receipt of a request for assistance for barge ‘P305’ adrift off Heera oil fields in Bombay high area with 273 personnel on board. The oil fields are around 70 km southwest of Mumbai.

Sixty persons on board the barge were rescued till 11 pm and the remaining overnight, the official said, adding a Navy helicopter brought three rescuees to INS Shikra this morning.

INS Shikra, formerly known as INS Kunjali, is a naval air station located at Colaba in south Mumbai.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Power supply to be restored in entire Goa by tomorrow

The electricity supply in Goa snapped due to the cyclonic storm Tauktae will be restored by Wednesday, the state electricity department said on Tuesday. Most areas in Goa plunged into darkness on Sunday after high-speed winds coupled with rains uprooted transmission cables, poles and trees.

“We have managed to restore 80 percent of the snapped electricity supply in Goa. Rest 20 percent supply would be restored by tomorrow (Wednesday) morning,” a senior official said. He said the restoration work is going on in the state round-the-clock

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Tidal wave likely to inundate coastal areas during next 3 hours, says IMD

The IMD said that the tidal wave might inundate coastal areas of Saurashtra during the next three hours. The weather department added, “About 1-2 metre tidal waves over Gir Somnath, Diu, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Amreli, and southern parts of Ahmedabad during the next 3 hours”.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

DoT permits intra-circle roaming in cyclone-hit districts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has allowed telcos to make intra-circle roaming arrangements in cyclone Tauktae-hit districts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, and union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu for 24 hours, a senior government official said Tuesday.

The DoT has allowed ICR, which allows telecom operators to use each other network, in Gujarat’’s Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Gir, Somnath, Junagadh, Valsad, and Navsari, and also in districts of Daman and Diu, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, telecom secretary Anshu Prakash told PTI.

“We have allowed ICR in districts where more than 10 percent telecom networks have been damaged from the cyclone,” Prakash said.

He said that ICR has been allowed in Raigad, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts of Maharashtra as well as in north and south Goa.

“We will review the situation this evening and decide on further action,” Prakash said.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

After ‘Nisarga’ in 2020, cyclone ‘Tauktae’ batters Raigad again

Raigad district in Maharashtra bore the brunt of nature’’s fury for the second year in a row when cyclonic storm Tauktae passed close to the Konkan coast, killing four persons in separate incidents and damaging many houses, officials told PTI on Tuesday.

Last June, severe cyclonic storm Nisarga had caused widescale damage in this coastal district, located about 100 km away from Mumbai. The four fatalities on Monday occurred in the incidents of falling of a tree and collapse of a wall in Uran and Roha. Altogether, 8,383 people from 2,299 families were shifted to safer places in Raigad district till Monday night, officials said.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Worst is over, says NDRF chief

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General SN Pradhan on Tuesday said that the ‘‘worst is over’’ and Cyclone Tauktae will “become a depression” by Tuesday evening.

Pradhan said, “The cyclone has weakened into a cyclonic storm level and probably in another couple of hours it will become a cyclonic system which is a much lower category. By the time it reaches Gujarat coast in the late evening, it would have become a depression…The worst is over”

“Another good news is that the state emergency operation centre (SEOC) of Gujarat has informed us and confirmed that there have been no deaths at all,” he further said adding that there is considerable damage to property and infrastructure.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Cyclonic storm Tauktae lay centred over Saurashtra, 140 kms southwest of Ahmedabad

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Surat airport to remain shut till 6 pm

Surat airport’s operations will remain suspended till 6 pm on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said 40,000 trees had fallen in the state due to Cyclone Tauktae.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

185 people rescued after barge sinks in Arabian Sea

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard rescued 185 people on board Barge P305, which had sunk after going adrift in the Arabian Sea, according to The Indian Express.

The barge had 273 crew members on board and search operations are on to locate the missing 68 people.

Deputy Chief of Naval Staff told ANI that the ongoing search and rescue operations are among the most challenging he has witnessed in the last four decades. “Warships can take damage from a couple of missiles and still retain their combat capability but the sea doesn’t spare anyone,” he added.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Rajasthan receives rains triggered by cyclone Tauktae

Several areas in Rajasthan recorded light to moderate rainfall triggered by cyclone Tauktae during the last 24 hours, IMD officials said, adding that heavy rainfall is likely on Wednesday.

Bhilwara recorded the maximum of 50 mm rainfall followed by Chittorgarh which received 25 mm rainfall, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to the Met department, Dabok received 20.6 mm rainfall, Vanasthali 20 mm, Sawai Madhopur 16 mm, Bundi 14 mm and Ajmer 11.8 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours.

It predicted extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Udaipur, Sirohi, Rajsamand, Dungarpur, Pali and Jalore districts on Tuesday. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated areas in several districts including Jaipur on Wednesday, the department said.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Coast Guard rescued eight fishermen off Veraval coast

Indian Coast Guard rescued eight fishermen onboard a fishing boat which drifted into the sea off the coast of Veraval harbour in Gujarat due to cyclone Tauktae, officials said.

Besides, two Coast Guard Chetak helicopters, operating from the CG air base at the Union Territory of Daman, rescued eight crew members of stranded ship ‘Gal Constructor’ from the sea off the Satpati coast.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Seven dead in Gujarat as cyclone leaves trail of destruction

At least seven people lost their lives in Gujarat – three in Bhavnagar, and one each in Rajkot, Patan, Amreli and Valsad – as Cyclone Tauktae left a trail of destruction.

An electric pole fell on a woman while she was sleeping in Patan town late Monday night amid strong wind, an official from Patan A-division police station said.

A woman and her daughter were killed when the wall of their house collapsed at Badeli village in Palitana taluka of Bhavnagar, a local administration official said.

In another incident, a girl died after the roof of their house collapsed on four members of the family at Rajula in Amreli district on Monday night, police said.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Cyclone snaps power of 18.43 lakh consumers in 2 Maharashtra districts

The power supply of 18.43 lakh consumers in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts was disrupted as Cyclone Tauktae brought rains and winds to Maharashtra, an official release said.

Supply of 52 percent of these consumers from 3,665 villages in these two districts has been restored while efforts are on on a war footing to restore electricity in the rest of the areas.

Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut said 13,172 staffers are working tirelessly to restore the supply of the remaining consumers, the statement said.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

How to stay safe during and after floods

The National Disaster Management Authority released ways in which people can stay safe during and after floods.

Cyclone Tauktae, which started moving along the west coast of India from 15 May onwards, brought heavy rains, gusty winds and caused flooding in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, before making a landfall on Monday night.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Three dead in Gujarat: Vijay Rupani

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said three people have lost their lives due to Cyclone Tauktae. Around 40,000 trees have fallen and 16,500 huts affected in the state, he added.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Search continues for 127 missing from barge off Bombay High

Search continues for 127 people who were onboard Barge 305 that first went adrift and subsequently sunk at Bombay High 175 kms from Mumbai as Cyclone Tauktae brought fierce winds over the Arabian Sea, News18 reported.

The barge, on the path of the cyclone, had 273 people on board.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

WATCH: Mumbai woman narrowly escapes as tree collapses

A woman in Mumbai had a narrow escape when she moved away from a spot just in time as a tree uprooted and fell owing to the heavy rains and gusty winds.

Meanwhile, NDRF chief SN Pradhan said the COVID and cyclone were managed simultaneously and the “worst is over”.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Coast Guard launches operations to rescue stranded crew of 10

Two Indian Coast Guard Chetaks launched from Daman successfully airlifted 10 crew members from grounded Barge Gal Constructor.

Earlier in the day, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard launched operations to rescue crew from barges that went adrift along the west coast, which saw Cyclone Tauktae leave a trail of destruction.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Heavy rains likely in Delhi as cyclone weakens

A day after Cyclone Tauktae made landfall in Gujarat, the IMD predicted it is likely to cause widespread rain over northwest India for the next three days, with moderate to heavy intensity rainfall forecast in Delhi on Wednesday.

The cyclone is likely to move north-northeastwards from the Gujarat and cause heavy to very heavy rainfall over Rajasthan on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Navy rescues 177 from barge; rescuees land in Mumbai

Battling extreme weather, the Indian Navy has so far rescued 177 people on board a barge that went adrift in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai hours before Cyclone Tauktae made landfall on the Gujarat coast, an official said told PTI.

Navy ships were deployed on Monday after receipt of a request for assistance for barge ‘P305’ adrift off Heera oil fields in Bombay high area with 273 personnel on board. The oil fields are around 70 km southwest of Mumbai.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Navy rescues 60 from barge adrift near Mumbai

The Indian Navy has rescued 60 people on board a barge that went adrift in the Arabia Sea near Mumbai hours before a very severe cyclonic storm with winds gusting up to 185 km per hour made landfall on the Gujarat coast, an official said.

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.

The ships deployed to extend assistance to the two barges were INS Kolkata, INS Kochi and INS Talwar.

Cyclone Tauktae LATEST Updates

Four killed in Gujarat as cyclone leaves trail of destruction

Four people were killed in Gujarat as cyclone Tauktae pounded parts of the state and left behind a trail of destruction along the western coast, officials said.

The landfall process of the eye of the 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.

It crossed the Gujarat coast as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” and gradually weakened.