Cyclone Tauktae: Mumbai Airport Suspends Operation for 3 Hours

The operations of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) will remain suspended from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on Monday, May 17, 2021, in view of Cyclone Tauktae alert, the airport said.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Mumbai, warning of very heavy rains at isolated places with strong winds on Monday as cyclone Tuaktae is likely to pass close to the Mumbai coast.

The government-run weather forecast authority said Tauktae has turned into an "extremely severe cyclonic storm" in the early hours of Monday. It now has a wind speed of 180-190 kilometres per hour (Kmph) with winds gusting to 210 kilometres per hour. The IMD, however, said that the cyclone's intensity will reduce when it hits the coast of Gujarat, reported Times Now.

"The very severe cyclonic storm 'Tauktae' (pronounced as Tau'Te) over the east-central Arabian Sea moved north-north-westwards with a speed of about 20 Kmph during past six hours, intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm," the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said.

"It is very likely to move north-north-westwards and reach Gujarat coast in the evening hours of 17th and cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar and Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) during the night (2000-2300 hours IST) of May 17 as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed 155-165 Kmph gusting to 185 Kmph," it added.

The cyclone is likely to make a landfall between 8-11 pm on Monday between Porbandar and Mahuva of Gujarat.

Around 1.5 lakh people are being evacuated from low-lying coastal areas in Gujarat, and 54 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) remained deployed after IMD's warning that Tauktae will reach the state coast on Monday evening and cross it Tuesday. 

Also Read: 'Tauktae' Severe Cyclonic Storm, To Reach Gujarat Coast