Bengaluru/Panaji/Ahmedabad: Cyclone Tauktae left four people dead in Karnataka and 2 in Goa, damaging hundreds of houses, uprooting electricity poles and trees and forcing evacuation. The water in many dams across Kerala was rising menacingly.
Power supply in most areas of Goa was disrupted as hundreds of electric poles were uprooted due to the high-speed winds. The power supply has been affected at the Goa Medical College hospital and the wards were treating Covid-19 patients with backup supply. Recently, there were scores of deaths in the hospital because of erratic O2 supply. (Covid-19 patients requiring oxygen need an un-interrupted supply.)
The dialysis unit of Manipal Hospital in Goa has been affected; the hospital has sent an SMS to its patients informing them of the damage. Manipal will not be able to administer dialysis for the next one week.
Goa airport, too, has been closed.
The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba met on Sunday in the national capital, where he directed agencies to ensure "uninterrupted" functioning of the COVID hospitals and ensure "zero loss" of lives.
Meanwhile, gale-force winds, heavy rainfall and high tidal waves swept the coastal. By May 18, the wind speed is expected to increase to 150-160 km per hour, gusting to 175 kmph by Tuesday morning. A tidal wave of about 3 metres is likely to inundate several coastal areas of Gujarat during the time of landfall between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district).
