Tauktae: Damage, loss of lives limited due to timely action, says panel

Cyclone Tauktae originated in the Arabian Sea this month and affected Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

The National Crisis Management Committee, chaired by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, met on Thursday to review the relief and restoration efforts made by state governments and union territories affected by Cyclone Tauktae. 

Cyclone Tauktae originated in the Arabian Sea this month and has affected India’s western coastal states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, among others this week. It is the first Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm, with wind speeds of 200 kmph, to reach close to the Mumbai coast in the last 130 years.

On Thursday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that Cyclone Tauktae had weakened and will further lose strength overnight. In Gujarat, the cyclonic storm ripped out power pylons, damaged about 16,500 homes and blocked more than 600 roads, straining authorities that are looking to contain a surge in Covid infections. 

Off the coast of Mumbai, Cyclone Tauktae sunk an oilfield accommodation barge of the Oil Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) with 261 people on board. While 188 people have been rescued, 37 aboard the vessel have lost their lives. The remaining are still missing and search and rescue operations are underway. The cyclone is estimated to have killed another 62 people. 

On Thursday, officials from the affected states and UTs apprised the NCMC of the damage to infrastructure, crops and loss of life in the affected areas and the measures taken by them to restore telecom, power, roads, water supply and other utilities. It was noted that due to the timely and accurate forecast of the IMD and coordinated efforts of all agencies concerned, the damage had been limited. 

The committee noted that the functioning of hospitals and Covid-19 care centres in the affected areas had been unaffected. 

The NCMC also took stock of efforts by the Indian and Coast Guard along with other agencies to rescue persons on three barges and one offshore drilling vessel of the ONGC. 

On Wednesday, the IMD said in a statement that a ‘low-pressure area’ — a precursor to a cyclonic storm — is likely to form in the Bay of Bengal by 22 May and could reach the Odisha and West Bengal coast on 26 May 2021. 

The cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, if it fully forms, will be called Yaas, a name proposed by Oman.