As Cyclone Ockhi moves towards Maharashtra and Gujarat, Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde announced that schools and colleges in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Sindhudurga, Thane, Raigad and Palghar districts will remain shut on Tuesday. The disaster management unit of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation also issued an advisory against visiting beaches in view of the high tide alert issued for Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Moreover, in view of the cyclone alert, six National Disaster Response Force teams have been deployed in Gujarat at Surat, Navsari and Rajkot. An emergency cell has also been opened at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Kalyan, Central Railway Mumbai Division informed. The railway division also tweeted that more than 250 railway police force and Maharashtra State Security Force personnel have been deployed on crowd management at stations, yards. Break-down equipment such as Accident Relief Train, Accident Relief medical van, Road ART have been kept in readiness, the division added.
Precautionary holiday declared on 5/12/17 for schools and colleges in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Sindhudurga, Thane, Raigad and Palghar Districts for the safety of the students due to the serious weather predictions on #CycloneOckhi, tweets Maharashtra Minister Vinod Tawde pic.twitter.com/2s8jijpkG5
— ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2017
#Mumbai Disaster management unit of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation issued advisory against visiting beaches in view of high tide alert issued for tonight and tomorrow morning due to #CycloneOckhi — ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2017
#CycloneOckhi In view of alert for Gujarat and Maharashtra, 6 National Disaster Response Force teams have been mobilized and pre-positioned at Surat, Navsari and Rajkot.
— ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2017
After a week of hitting the coastline down south, Ockhi is set to move away from Lakshadweep and towards north Maharashtra and Gujarat in the next 48 hours. The first tropical storm of the season battered Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep coasts during the past week and has claimed 19 lives in rain-related incidents so far.
A man watches as high tide induced by Cyclone Ockhi lashes against Kerala coast. PTI
Indian Navy said 10 of its ships and eight aircraft were involved in the continuing search and rescue operations in the southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands, after scores of fishermen were reported missing.
"A total of 55 people were rescued on Sunday taking the total to 145. The weather conditions are still adverse at the L&M Islands," the release read. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman also visited Kanyakumari on Sunday to review the rescue operations in cyclone-affected regions.
A total of 357 fishermen, including 71 from Tamil Nadu, stranded in the sea due to the cyclone, were rescued, Sitharaman said on Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday evening, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that fishermen from near Kerala, who were caught in rough seas due to Cyclone Ockhi, had reached the state's Sindhudurg coast and were safe.
"Maharashtra will completely look after everyone till weather permits them to go back," he had said.
"I have given orders to the Maharashtra Maritime Board and collector, Sindhudurg district to make all arrangements for the stranded fishermen," Fadnavis had added.
With inputs from PTI
Published Date: Dec 04, 2017 07:56 pm | Updated Date: Dec 04, 2017 08:20 pm
