8 killed as Cyclone Tauktae approaches Indian coast

NEW DELHI

At least eight people were killed in torrential rain and winds in southwestern and western Indian states, while a cyclone is developing and is forecast to hit one of the country's coastal states by Monday evening.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in a statement has issued an alert, stating that it has developed into an extremely severe cyclone Tauktae that is "very likely" to make landfall in a Gujarat state's Bhavnagar district with high intensity and wind gusts of up to 185 kilometers per hour (114.954 miles per hours) on Monday evening.

Four people died in the state of Karnataka on Sunday as a result of the torrential rain and winds. Two more people died in the same state and two more in Goa on Monday, according to the official statement.

A statement by the Gujarat government has said that 150,000 people have evacuated from the low-lying areas of the state after warning of the severe cyclonic storm.

According to a statement issued by the Gujarat state government, around 150,000 people are evacuated from low-lying areas following the alert.

It added that 54 teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been dispatched to deal with the situation.

In a separate statement, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said on Monday that they had rescued 12 fishermen stranded 35 nautical miles off the coast of Kochi.

Earlier on Sunday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) dispatched two C-130J and one An-32 aircraft from Kolkata to Ahmedabad to transport 167 personnel and 16.5 tons of NDRF cargo.

Another C-130J and two An-32 aircraft flew 121 NDRF personnel and 11.6 tons of cargo from Vijayawada to Ahmedabad for the same reason, said the official statement.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review meeting on Sunday to assess the preparedness of states and Union Territories in the cyclone's path, and directed all authorities to make adequate power backup arrangements in all hospitals, laboratories, vaccine cold chain, and other medical facilities amid a second wave of the pandemic in the country.