Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday chaired a review meeting with the Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Administrator of Daman and Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli to assess the preparedness of States and Central ministries to deal with the situation arising out of Cyclone Tauktae.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, in the meeting, told the home minister that the state government has issued warnings to districts near the Konkan coast and told officials to prepare large shelters in vulnerable areas.
Thackeray also stated that the government has made preparations to ensrre that the oxygen supply and electricity supply does not get affected due to the cyclone.
The incoming cyclone intensified into a "very severe cyclonic storm" over the east-central Arabian Sea and is very likely to intensify further during the next 12 hours, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday morning.
It is very likely to move north-northwestwards and reach Gujarat coast in the evening hours of May 17 and cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) around May 18 early morning, the IMD said.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials have also assured on Friday that they are well prepared for Cyclone Tauktae and 53 teams have been committed, 24 teams pre-deployed, and 29 teams are on standby ready for the 5 most vulnerable states-- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
