Cyclone Tauktae, which made landfall over Gujarat late last night with a wind speed of 160-165 km per hour, has claimed three lives in the state.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said three lives were lost in storm-related incidents at Vapi, Rajkot and Bhavnagar districts.

"The cyclone hit the Gujarat coast near Una with a speed of 160 kmph and had moved ahead with intense winds. Today, the maximum windspeed is in the range of 105-115 kmph, which indicates that the cyclone has weakened somewhat."

"It is obvious that such a devastating cyclone will have its impact. But detailed advance planning and shifting of over 2 lakh people from the likely-affected districts, prevented any big mishap or major casualties," Rupani said in a media briefing on Tuesday morning.

Over 16,500 hutments or houses have been damaged and an assessment of further damage is still on as the cyclone moves across the mainland.

Despite the severe stormy weather with excessive rains, the State maintained oxygen supplies for Covid-19 patients in the neighbouring states.

"There were no disruptions in oxygen supplies to the States. Also, there was no impact on oxygen supplies to hospitalised patients in the affected districts. Hospitals had generators for any emergency needs," Rupani said.

Overall 2,437 villages had reported power failure due to the storm. But by morning on Tuesday, power supply was restored in 484 villages. "Teams are active on the ground to restore power supply in the remaining villages," Rupani said.

Government estimates suggest that 1,081 electric poles had fallen, about 169 roads were damaged and over 40,000 trees were uprooted in the districts along the route of the cyclone.

Data showed that a total of 35 talukas had received rain in excess of 1 inch since last night. While Bagasara in Amreli district received a maximum of 9 inches of rainfall, Gir Gadhada and Una talukas received 8 inches each, followed by Savarkundala with 7 inches at night. Amreli district was the worst-hit district with excess rainfall.

The Met Department forecast as of 10.30 am on Tuesday said the severe cyclonic storm lay centered over Saurashtra and was moving North-NorthEast with a speed of 8 kmph. The wind intensity reported was 105-115 kmph, gusting to 125 kmph.

The forecast stated that Tauktae is likely to weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by noon on Tuesday.

 

 

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