Cyclone Tauktae batters Gujarat, leaves at least 6 dead

The Chief Minister said casualties were kept to the minimum as the state machinery acted in advance and relocated over two lakh people from the coast to the interiors.

At least six people died in incidents related to Cyclone Tauktae in Gujarat, while more than 17,000 houses collapsed, and several trees and electricity poles were uprooted, officials said on Tuesday.

There has been large-scale damage to summer crops, especially mango and til (sesame), in Saurashtra-Kutch and south Gujarat regions. Industrial operations were also hit in the state.

After a review meeting on Tuesday, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani ordered a survey of the damage to crops and industries in Gir-Somnath, Bhavnagar and Amreli districts in Saurashtra, and Surat, Valsad and Navsari districts in south Gujarat.

Rupani said electricity supply to more than 4,000 villages was affected due to the cyclonic storm, and around 1,100 electricity poles were either damaged or fell due to high velocity winds in the worse-affected areas.

The Chief Minister said casualties were kept to the minimum as the state machinery acted in advance and relocated over two lakh people from the coast to the interiors.

Though most industrial units in the coastal areas had suspended their operations from Monday to Wednesday, many ceramic units in Morbi continued operating at a lower capacity. Natural gas supply to the ceramic cluster remained around 2.5 mscmd on Tuesday against its average demand of over 6 mscmd.

In a statement, APM Terminals, the Pipavav port operator, said the port was hit hard. “Though key infrastructure, including railway tracks and cranes, is safe. We are in the process of restoring the communication. There is still no power at Pipavav port,” it said.

Though the India Meteorological Department has said the cyclone, which made landfall near the Gujarat coast as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, has started weakening, the state government will continue to remain vigilant till Wednesday evening.

In the last 24 hours, one to nine inches of rain was reported in as many as 15 districts in the state. Bagasara town in Saurashtra received nine inches of rain with heavy wind.