Tidal wave above astronomical tide is likely to inundate coastal areas – About 3 -4 meter (m) over Anand & Amreli, Gir Somnath, Diu, Bhavnagar, 2-3 m over Bharuch, southern parts of Ahmedabad, 1-2 m over Surat, Navsari, Valsad, and 0.5 – 1m over the remaining coastal districts of Gujarat during the time of landfall.
Glimpse of the cyclone #Tauktae pic.twitter.com/vtyAWW9QXj
— Divya Nebhnani (@nebhnani_divya) May 15, 2021
Gale wind speed reaching 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph is prevailing along and off south Gujarat and Daman and Diu coasts. It is likely to increase becoming Gale winds speed reaching 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph along & off Gujarat coast (Amreli, Bhavnagar) Junagarh, Gir Somnath and 120 -140 kmph gusting to 165 kmph over Bharuch, Anand, south Ahmedabad, Botad, 90 -100 kmph gusting to 120 kmph over Devbhoomi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Rajkot, Morbi, Kheda districts of Gujarat from tonight till 18th early morning. Gale winds speed reaching 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph likely to prevail along and off Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman, Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Surendranagar, districts from May 17 evening till May 18, 2021.
Sea conditions will be “phenomenal” over east-central and adjoining northeast Arabian Sea till May 18 morning and improve gradually thereafter. Sea conditions will be high to very high along and off Maharashtra coast during next 12 hours and improve thereafter. It is very likely to be high along and off south Gujarat, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli coasts during next 6 hours becoming “phenomenal” till May 18. It will improve gradually thereafter.
The cyclone thus far had already killed at least a dozen persons across the coastal districts and severely impacted COVID response in the affected coastal states already reeling under the pandemic surge. In these states – Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka – to name a few, resources had to be diverted to evacuation of thousands of people and ensure least damage due to Tauktae.
In the meantime, the assets of the Indian Navy were pressed into service to rescue stranded crew of Indian flagged Tug ‘Coromondel Supporter XI’ off Karnataka coast. Another helicopter from Naval air station in Goa had been deployed to assist in the search of missing crew members of Indian flagged Tug Alliance.
The weather department issued a Red message for Gujarat and Diu coasts and post landfall outlook for Gujarat and Rajasthan. It said yesterday’s very severe cyclonic storm over eastcentral Arabian Sea moved north-north-westwards and intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm in the early morning (0530 hrs IST) today, May 17, 2021. It lay centred at 0830 hours IST over east-central Arabian Sea near latitude 18.8°N and longitude 71.5°E, about 150 km west of Mumbai, 220 km south-southeast of Diu, 260 km southeast of Veraval (Gujarat), and 490 km east-southeast of Karachi (Pakistan). Gale wind speed reaching 180–190 kmph gusting to 210 kmph was likely to prevail over east-central Arabian Sea during next six hours, it said.
Forecast track and intensity are given in the following table:
In all 11 Indian Navy Diving Teams have been kept on standby in case of any request from authorities of affected states. Twelve flood rescue teams and medical teams have been earmarked for immediate response and deployment. Repair and rescue teams have also been formed to undertake urgent infrastructural repairs post cyclone, if required.
Three ships (Talwar, Tarkash and Tabar) are on standby with aid and relief material for immediate assistance to affected areas, if required. Balance ships on the Western seaboard are also on standby for assistance to fishing boats/small boats stranded due to rough weather. Navy’s Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft on surveillance are continuously broadcasting cyclone warnings to fishermen. While Indian Air Force has deployed its aircraft to transport personnel and tonnes of load of Natioal Disaster Response Force to Ahmedabad, two Army columns have been mobilised from Jamnagar for Diu along with Engineer Task Force. Two more columns had been staged forward to Junagadh for immediate response in case need arose. It may be recalled that On May 16, 2021, IAF had deployed two C-130J and one An-32 aircraft for transportation of 167 personnel and 16.5 tonnes of load of NDRF from Kolkata to Ahmedabad. Another C-130J and two An-32 aircraft carried 121 NDRF personnel and 11.6 tonnes of load from Vijayawada to Ahmedabad for the same purpose. Two C-130J aircraft transported 110 personnel and 15 tonnes of cargo for NDRF from Pune to Ahmedabad.
– global bihari bureau
