India: Cyclone Tauktae leaves trail of destruction

Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful storm to hit western India in more than two decades, brought sustained winds of up to 210 kilometers (130 miles) per hour when it came ashore on the coast of Gujarat state late Monday. The cyclone, which was categorized as "extremely severe," weakened to a "very severe" storm after making landfall, Indian meteorologists said.

Ahead of the cyclone, about 200,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas in Maharashtra and Gujarat states. Both states are already among the hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

The cyclone knocked out power in 2,400 villages in Gujarat after a thousand electricity pylons were damaged. Nearly 160 roads have been destroyed, 40,000 trees uprooted and several houses damaged, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has said.

Severe weather conditions forced Gujarat health authorities to suspend COVID vaccinations for two days. State Chief Minister Vijay Rupani requested officials to ensure that oxygen supplies for hospitals were not disrupted during the storm. According to State Revenue Secretary Pankaj Kumar, 1,383 power backups were installed to ensure coronavirus hospitals were not faced with power outages.

The Indian navy said Tuesday it had rescued 177 people who were aboard a capsized oil-rig support vessel off the coast of Mumbai, with 96 people still missing. Another vessel ran aground, with all 137 personnel brought to safety. Authorities have deployed three warships, maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters to carry out rescue operations, which are being hampered by the rough conditions.

The storm damaged infrastructure and agriculture along the western coast, while heavy rains continued to flood some regions. Here, fishermen and women are seen mending bamboo racks used to dry fish after they were brought down by strong winds in a fishing village off the coast in Mumbai. In Maharashtra state, six people were killed, but Mumbai was largely spared from major damage.

Officials have said that oxygen manufacturing was not hit by the storm, and hospitals with COVID patients were unaffected. "Our priority is to clear the roads, so there is no impact on oxygen movement" due to the cyclone, said Gaurang Makwana, an official in Bhavnagar district in Gujarat.

Tropical cyclones are less common in the Arabian Sea than on India's east coast, and typically form later in the year. But although the storms do not occur frequently, experts warn climate change will cause them to become more severe.