Cyclone Tauktae has further intensified into an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (ESCS).
Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted that moderate to intense spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 75-85 kmph is likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Palghar and Ratnagiri during the next 3 hours.
What is a cyclone?
A "Cyclonic Storm" or a "Cyclone" is an intense vortex or a whirl in the atmosphere with very strong winds circulating around it in an anti-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and in a clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere.
The word "Cyclone" is derived from the Greek, word "Cyclos" meaning the coils of a snake. To Henri Peddington, the tropical storms in the Bay of Bengal and in the Arabian Sea appeared like the coiled serpents of the sea and he named these storms as "Cyclones".
Cyclones are intense low-pressure areas - from the centre of which pressure increases outwards- The amount of the pressure drop in the centre and the rate at which it increases outwards gives the intensity of the cyclones and the strength of winds.
What does extremely severe cyclonic storm mean?
Cyclone with windspeed 167-221 kmph.
How are cyclones classified?
In Mumbai, five temporary shelters each have been put up in 24 civic wards of the metropolis so that citizens can be shifted there if necessary.
The IMD has issued an orange alert for Mumbai warning of very heavy rains at isolated places with strong winds on Monday as Tauktae is likely to pass close to the Mumbai coast.
Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) stationed in the western suburbs of Mumbai have been put on alert. Teams of the Indian Navy are also kept on standby, officials said.
Meanwhile, in Jalgaon in north Maharashtra, two persons died and another was injured after a tree fells on a hut, an official said. It wasn't clear if the incident was directly related to the severity of the cyclonic storm.
(With inputs from agencies)
