Mumbai| As the cyclone moves towards the Gujarat coast, Maharashtra is preparing to grapple with its effects on coastal and some interiors which may be affected by heavy rains and strong winds. Officials gave this information on Saturday. Apart from Mumbai, the entire coastal area including Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg is in a state of high alert and all rescue and relief agencies are in full readiness to deal with any situation.
The NDRF has deployed 3 teams in Mumbai, 15 in Pune and a team in Goa to hit the cyclone, now in the Arabian Sea, off the northern Karnataka-South Maharashtra coasts.
However, officials are hopeful that Maharashtra can survive the cyclone outbreak as it is likely to pass through about 250 km in the Arabian Sea, moving at an average speed of 7 km per hour.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has reviewed the situation and asked the people and government machinery to be vigilant, rejuvenating the memories of the devastating cyclone Nisarga that hit the Raigad-Ratnagiri epidemic in June 2020 to a climax Was delivered.
A CMO official said, “In a meeting on Friday night in connection with the cyclone Taukate, Thackeray has directed all divisional commissioners and district collectors to remain vigilant and well equipped in coastal areas, especially in Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. ”
Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant, who hails from Konkan, said that the authorities are fully prepared to deal with any incident in the next few days.
Samanta said, We have made special arrangements for hospitals and Kovid-19 care centers, arranged backup generators for oxygen plants, deployed ambulance fleets and other requirements when patients needed to be evacuated.
KS Hoslikar, head of SID at Climate Research and Services Pune, said the new satellite images indicate that the system is maturing and cloud bands are now also in coastal north Karnataka, Goa and south Maharashtra.
The IMD said that for the last three days, a low-pressure area over the Lakshadweep islands and the Arabian Sea has been developing rapidly, with a powerful cyclone expected to hit the states on the west coast of India.
The IMD has already placed Mumbai and Thane under the Yellow Alert, indicating isolated heavy rains with strong winds, while Orange Alerts and Red Alerts have been issued for several districts of Gujarat and Kerala.
The cyclone will turn into a full-blown cyclone on Sunday, causing heavy rains in the southern and western coastal parts of the country with strong winds and is expected to hit the Gujarat coast by the morning of 18 May.
The storm has lashed large areas in Lakshadweep Islands, Kerala, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and parts of Palghar, with heavy to very heavy rainfall predicted at some places and heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places till Sunday. .
According to IMD, in Kerala, heavy rainfall is expected on Saturday and heavy to very heavy rainfall at different places on Sunday and Monday.
The cyclone will cause heavy rains over the next three days in Mumbai, Raigad in coastal southern Konkan region, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra, Goa and parts of Gujarat when it reaches the Gujarat coast on Tuesday.
Very heavy rains are likely to occur in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg on Sunday and Monday, while Mumbai, Thane, Raigad may receive very heavy rainfall on Monday, apart from Satara, Kolhapur, parts of Western Ghats and Pune on Sunday and Monday. Thunderstorms are expected.
Coastal Maharashtra especially South Konkan may be affected by storms reaching speeds of 60 kmph on Saturday and rise to 80 kmph along the Maharashtra-Goa coasts on Sunday (16 May).
Fishermen already in the Arabian Sea have been advised to return and others have been warned not to venture into the sea from May 14-18.
