Intensity of cyclone tokte has been decreased.

Intensity of cyclone tokte has been decreased.  The strongest hurricane affecting the region since 1998.

The tornado hit the coast of the Indian state of Gujarat at a speed of 160 km per hour, after which intensity of Cyclone tokte  has decreased. The storm was considered extremely severe.

The cyclone tokte continued along the west coast of India and the city of Mumbai barely escaped its onslaught. As a result of the storm, heavy rains along with strong winds continued in many affected areas of India, killing at least 12 people and evacuating 1.5 million people from their homes.

The Indian Navy has sent two ships to rescue hundreds of people stranded along the coast.

The storm was feared to be the strongest to hit the region since 1998 and comes at a time when several Indian states are struggling to cope with the devastating effects of the corona virus. The health system is already under pressure.

At the end of local time on Monday, the Indian Meteorological Department announced that a ‘severe storm’ has started hitting the coast of Gujarat. It took hours for the hurricane to reach the coast.

The Meteorological Department said Tuesday morning that the intensity of the so-called “severe storm” named as cyclone tokte has decreased and later in a tweet, it said that its intensity is continuously decreasing.

 

On Monday alone, Pakistan’s Meteorological Department said that cyclone tokte has now turned into a very severe storm and is currently 800 km away from Karachi. On Sunday, the distance was 1210 km.

According to Sardar Sarfraz, Director, Meteorological Department, Sindh Province, Hurricane Tokte made landfall on May 13 in a maritime area opposite the southern Indian district of Kerala (north of the Maldives) and had low pressure, but on May 15, Kerala It intensified on the island of Lakshadweep.

According to Sarfraz Khan, “It was expected that the storm could hit the coastal areas of Pakistan, but on May 16, the storm changed its course.”

Heavy rains and strong winds continued in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra due to the storm yesterday.

What was the situation in Karnataka and Kerala?

The Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority said on Monday that the cyclone tokte storm had caused heavy rains in six districts in the last 24 hours and four people had lost their lives.

According to The Hindu, two people were killed in the storm in Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts of Kerala. At the same time, more than 2,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and live in relief camps. 71 relief camps have been set up for them.

The state received an average of 145.5 mm of rain on Saturday.

Chief Minister Panarayi Vajin had said on the basis of Meteorological Department data that the storm had severely damaged the power supply facility and the agriculture sector.

The typhoon also caused heavy rains in several coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep.  Heavy rains and strong winds were forecast in coastal areas of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat in the next 48 hours. It was feared that trees would fall and houses would be damaged and roads would be affected.

Fishermen were warned to stay away from the sea. The meteorological department had hoped that the storm would reach the coast of Gujarat between Porbandar and Nalia by the afternoon or evening of May 18. This will increase the wind speed to 175 kmph.

According to an estimate, heavy rains were expected in the coastal areas due to the storm coming on the coast of Gujarat. Besides, heavy rains were forecast in Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Saurashtra, Kutch, Dave, Purbandar, Deobomi, Dwarka, Amreli, Rajkot and Jamnagar.

According to the meteorological department, the storm will cross the coast of Gujarat on May 18 and move to the northwest. The Meteorological Department had issued a warning to coastal fishermen.

Yesterday, Moazzam Khan, technical advisor to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Pakistan), told journalist Zubair Khan that the storm was likely to hit the coastal area between Purband and Mahuva in the Indian state of Gujarat.

 

Sardar Sarfraz said that the tornado was not directly hitting the shores of Pakistan but its negative effects were felt in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and five districts of Sindh, Tharparkar, Badin, Thatta, Umerkot and Mirpur. The effects are beginning to show.

He said that it is very hot in Karachi at present and hot winds are blowing. Yesterday, the wind was blowing at a speed of about 48 km per hour and the temperature was up to 44 degrees.

“Even today, hot winds are blowing and sea breezes are closed,” he added. According to Sardar Sarfraz, the situation is likely to continue till May 18, during which the temperature is likely to remain between 42 and 44 degrees.

According to Sardar Sarfraz, Tharparkar, Badin, Thatta, Mirpur and Umerkot areas of Sindh are also being affected. He said that the temperature in Tharparkar remained at 45 degrees yesterday and in other districts it was 42 to 44 degrees Celsius while the situation is likely to remain the same till May 18.

“Winds are blowing at a speed of about 37 to 55 kmph in these districts of Sindh,” he said.

Sardar Sarfraz said that rain is unlikely in Karachi while light and heavy rain is likely in these five districts of Sindh and adjoining districts from this evening.

 

According to Moazzam Khan, the effects of the storm have started to be felt in Pakistan and at present there are clouds in some parts of Tharparkar district. In Karachi and some parts of Sindh, it is getting hotter than usual and strong winds are blowing which is an unusual situation.

Moazzam Khan said that the sea breezes have stopped due to the storm. But it is expected that after the storm hits the coast, the situation will start to improve and the heat wave will subside. However, the rains in Sindh, which started in the evening, may continue intermittently for a day.

According to him, the rains could cause floods.

Moazzam Khan said that except for mangoes grown on trees in different parts of Sindh, other fruits and crops could be damaged due to unusual rains and strong winds.

Moazzam Khan also said that the people of Karachi and coastal cities should be very careful. This is not the time to look at the sea, any uncontrollable wave can cause damage. He said that by May 20, the storm could have some effects and that turning to the sea in the region could be dangerous.

The effects of another storm

According to Moazzam Khan, the latest international satellite images clearly show that the effects of another storm are currently appearing near the Maldives and at a distance of about 2080 km from Karachi.

He said that in the next two to three days, the situation will become clear as to what form the storm will take. However, there are fears that storms in this part of the sea usually turn north, ie their direction is towards Pakistan and It is towards India.

According to Moazzam Khan, it is normal for storms to form in the Arabian Sea during this season. They can occur at any time, anywhere, but they need to be monitored.

In all coastal areas and cities, including Karachi, the administration has been directed to carry out the task of cleaning the drains immediately, remove large and dangerous billboards in Karachi and other cities and take all necessary precautionary measures.