Cyclone Tauktae, the biggest to hit the region in decades, made landfall in Gujarat at around 8.30 pm on Monday, packing winds with speeds of 155-165 kilometres per hour, gusting to 190 km/hour. After the landfall ended around midnight, the weather office downgraded the storm from 'extremely severe' to 'very severe'. It later said in a tweet that the cyclone was weakening further.
In a relief to the people, the IMD, in its tweet after midnight, also announced that Cyclone Tauktae has weakened into a "very severe cyclonic storm" from the "extremely severe cyclonic storm".
"The entire eye of the cyclone has now crossed the coast and lies over land. The rear sector of the eye is now entering the land" the IMD tweeted.
Meanwhile, flight operations at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, halted for hours due to the cyclone, have been resumed. The cyclone triggered strong winds with the highest-ever speed of 114 kilometres per hour in Mumbai.
At least six people were killed and several injured in Maharashtra as Cyclone Tauktae brushed past the state while eight people died in cyclone-affected coastal Karnataka.
The NDRF on Monday said it has evacuated thousands of stranded people in the last three days in Gujarat, Kerala and Daman and Diu in view of Cyclone Tauktae.
The major ports and airports have been shut in Gujarat as the most powerful cyclone in more than two decades roared up the west coast. The cyclone has left a trail of destruction as it brushed past the coastal states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, the authorities said.
Home Minister Amit Shah also reviewed the preparedness for Cyclone Tauktae in Gujarat, Maharashtra and two Union territories on Sunday and "specifically" stressed that all health facilities, including those for COVID-19 treatment, falling in the affected areas should be secured along with the patients.
