Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has directed the district collectors of Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Palghar to be vigilant and take all precautionary steps to tackle Cyclone Tauktae. The coastal areas including Mumbai are put on high alert while all rescue and relief agencies are in full preparedness.
‘’In a preparatory meeting regarding Cyclone Tauktae, CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray instructed the district administration, divisional commissioners and district collectors to be vigilant and well equipped in coastal areas, especially of Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. The district collectors have been asked to be ready and mobilize necessary manpower and equipment to tackle the cyclone impact,’’ said CMO in a tweet.
Thackeray will chair meeting of Disaster Management Authority on Monday.
The NDRF has deployed 3 teams in Mumbai, 15 in Pune and one in Goa with Tauktae now said to be in the Arabian Sea off north Karnataka-south Maharashtra coasts.
Minister for Higher & Technical Education Uday Samant, who is also the guardian minister of Sindhudurg, said that the authorities are in complete readiness to handle any eventuality over the next few days. "We have also made special arrangements for hospitals and Covid-19 care centres, arranged backup generators for oxygen plants, fleets of ambulances deployed in case patients need to be evacuated and other requirements," he added.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said on Friday that the depression in the Arabian Sea is likely to intensify into a "very severe cyclonic storm" on May 17 and cross the Gujarat coast a day later.
It had also said the weather condition has intensified into a deep depression and it is very likely to further intensify into cyclonic storm Tauktae by Saturday morning. It is very likely to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm by Saturday.
The IMD had predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Konkan and Goa on May 15-16.
Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg are likely to witness very heavy rains on Sunday and Monday, while Mumbai, Thane, Raigad will be clobbered with very heavy downpour on Monday, besides thunderstorms likely to hit Satara, Kolhapur, parts of the Western Ghats and Pune over Sunday and Monday.
