Three persons died and more than 16,500 buildings and huts have been damaged in Gujarat as cyclone Tauktae left a devastating trail behind on Monday night.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said in Gandhinagar on Tuesday that reports of three deaths have come to them. According to him, one person died in Vapi, a child died in Rajkot district following a house collapse and one 80-year-old person died in Saurashtra region.
Gujarat had evacuated more than 2 lakh persons, including COVID-19 patients to safer and bigger hospitals. The chief minister said that the major loss of life and property could be prevented because of advance planning.
In Saurashtra region, gusty winds blew at a speed of 175 kmph till past midnight and wee hours on Tuesday. Several parts of Gujarat are still receiving rains.
According to information, the eye of Tauktae is expected to pass from near Ahmedabad on Tuesday. It had made a landfall at Wanakbara in Diu on Monday night.
The state government said that in four hospitals they had to deploy generators. It also claimed that oxygen supply was not affected anywhere. However, it admitted that production of oxygen in Bhavnagar was affected for a couple of hours.
Electricity supply has been affected in more than 2,400 villages and more than 40,000 poles have been uprooted. The cyclone also saw one thousand poles falling.
Rupani said that the survey of damage would begin at a later date. Rescue work will be done for three days, he added.
According to the government, 196 roads have been damaged and the administration is believed to have made over 40 roads motorable.
