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4 dead as Cyclone Tauktae hits K’taka
According to a statement by disaster management authorities, the cyclone is likely to intensify over the next 24 hours and also likely to move north-northwestwards and reach Gujarat coast in the evening hours of 17th & cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar & Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) around May 18 early morning
According to a statement by disaster management authorities, the cyclone is likely to intensify over the next 24 hours and also likely to move north-northwestwards and reach Gujarat coast in the evening hours of 17th & cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar & Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) around May 18 early morning.
Of the four deaths reported so far, one each are from Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga, officials said.
Around three persons are missing and nine more are stuck on tug boats.
According to New Mangaluru Port Trust and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) , the tug boats--Alliance and Coromandel--were supposed to return on the night of May 14.
Out of the eight people on the Tug Alliance, three have reached the shore and are undergoing treatment in a hospital in Udupi, according to disaster management authorities. On Saturday and Sunday, two bodies were recovered while three are missing, the authorities said.
In Tug Coromandel, nine people are stuck on the boat as the rescue operations have been hampered due to heavy winds.
The authorities are trying to determine why these tug boats did not return to shore despite warnings on May 13 and have sought a report from New Mangaluru Port Trust and MRPL.
A Naval chopper from Goa is likely to take part in rescue operations, according to disaster management authorities.
The cyclone has caused widespread damage across Karnataka and Kerala.
According to the preliminary loss, damage and relief measures, as of 5 pm on Sunday, there were at least four deaths due to the cyclone and 216 homes were damaged.
Around 98 villages in 20 talukas or administrative units, have been damaged.
Among the 98 villages affected, a maximum of 31 are from Uttara Kannada district. According to the state disaster management authority, around 491 electric poles, 27 transformers and around 3,000 lines have been damaged.
The state disaster management said that 516 persons have so far been evacuated and 253 of them are in the 10 relief camps.
“The rainfall is accompanied by gale wind speed reaching 70 to 80 km/hour, gusting at times up to 90 km/per along and off [the] Karnataka Coast,” the state government’s disaster management team said in a statement.
The impact of the cyclone is being felt across at least six districts of Karnataka which include Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Chikmagalur and Kodagu in the last 24 hours, according to official updates.
The highest rainfall in the last 24 hours was recorded at Nada Station in Kundapura taluk in Udupi district, about 400 kms from Bengaluru. Around 15 stations across the state received over 200 mm of rainfall, said officials.
Chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday asked in-charge ministers of coastal districts and deputy commissioners (DCs) there to visit affected areas and carry out rescue and relief works.
The chief minister’s office said on Sunday that he took stock of the situation after speaking with district authorities.
“The CM has instructed that whatever emergency assistance is required from the government, they (district administration) can get in touch with the ministers in-charge or call him directly,” the statement from the CM’s office added.
According to a tweet in the evening by the CMO, the chief minister once again spoke to three DCs and the Chief Secretary in the evening and directed the Dakshina Kannada DC to take necessary measures to rescue the crew of a tug boat that is caught in the sea.
He also directed the chief secretary to stay in touch with the Centre for the rescue of crew, and make all the necessary arrangements, including chopper if required.
Cyclone Tauktae will hit the coastal areas of Goa by late afternoon as it is very likely to keep moving in the north northwest direction, said the India Meteorological Department
It is very likely to move north-north westwards and reach Gujarat coast in the evening hours of May 17 and cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) around May 18 early morning, the IMD said.
