New Delhi: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport has issued an order stating that the operations on the airport shall stay closed from 11 am to 2 pm at present in view of Cyclone Tauktae. “Due to cyclone alert, Mumbai Airport operations need to be closed from 1100 hours to 1400 hours of May 17,” knowledgeable Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) on Monday (May 17, 2021).
In account of Cyclone Tauktae, a heavy downpour accompanied by gusty winds was witnessed at present in Mumbai. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has additionally issued an order stating that the “Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai will also be closed for commuters till further notice due to heavy wind speed triggered due to the effect of Cyclone Tauktae.” The commuters have been requested to take different routes to their locations.
The IMD had additionally knowledgeable the BMC that Mumbai isn’t within the direct line of the specter of the cyclone. However, as it would move by the ocean close to the Mumbai coast, its impact is more likely to be accompanied by rain and powerful winds.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has additionally issued an orange alert for Mumbai warning of very heavy rains at remoted locations with robust winds on Monday as the very extreme cyclonic storm Tauktae is more likely to move shut from the Mumbai coast in direction of Gujarat.
Additionally, three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are stationed in Mumbai to combat any challenging state of affairs Cyclone Tauktae may current. Numerous rescue teams, together with Indian Navy, have been put on excessive alert.
“Six teams of the Mumbai fire brigade’s flood rescue unit are deployed on six beaches in the city. Five temporary shelters each are put up in 24 civic wards of the metropolis so that citizens can be shifted there if necessary,” a senior civic official mentioned.
Another official mentioned over 500 of the 580 sufferers have been shifted to different COVID-19 hospitals from ICUs of jumbo Covid centres until 10 pm on Sunday.
“The shifting of the patients started on Saturday night and it went on throughout the day and night (on Sunday) since last night,” a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) spokesperson mentioned.
According to IMD officers, the very extreme cyclonic storm over the east-central Arabian sea moved north-northwest with a pace of about 19 kmph and lay centred at 5.30 hours on Sunday.
“It is very likely to intensify further in the next 24-hours. It is very likely to move north-northwestwards and reach Gujarat coast in the evening hours of May17 and cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) around May 18 early morning,” an official mentioned.
The BMC had on Friday alerted city hospitals to keep away from last-minute confusion over beds and availability of oxygen units.
The IMD had mentioned the storm is more likely to move the Mumbai coast late Saturday or early Sunday from a distance, so minimal injury is anticipated. It will, nonetheless, trigger gusty winds and heavy rain in just a few locations in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar.
The civic physique has suspended the vaccination programme on Monday because of the cyclone warning.
Earlier within the day, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar took inventory of the cyclone preparedness after visiting the BMC catastrophe management room.
Pednekar appealed to residents to strictly observe the directions given by the civic administration on occasion.
(With PTI inputs)
