“Extremely Severe Cyclone” Tauktae to cross Gujarat coast tonight

The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm “Tauktae” over east central Arabian Sea moved nearly northwards with a speed of about 13 kmph during the past six hours and lay centred at 1130 hours on Monday. Maharashtra: High waves of 3.5 – 7.1 meters are forecasted upto 2330 hours of May 18 beyond 10 km off the coast from Malvan to Vasai with surface current speeds varying between 79 - 178 cm/sec. High waves of 3.5 – 7.2 meters beyond 10 km off the coast from Jakhau to Diu forecasted with current speeds vary between 101 - 166 cm/sec. Offshore waves in the range of 3.5 – 7.9 meters are forecasted with surface current speeds varying between 152 - 220 cm/sec. Warnings: Total suspension of fishing operations till noon tomorrow; Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls across the States on the West Coast; Gale wind speed reaching 180–190 kmph gusting to 210 kmph is likely to prevail during next six hours, Tidal wave above astronomical tide is likely to inundate coastal areas about 3 -4 meter over in Gujarat's Anand and Amreli, Gir Somnath, Diu, Bhavnagar, 2-3 mts over Bharuch, southern parts of Ahmedabad, 1-2 m over Surat, Navsari, Valsad, and 0.5 – 1m over the remaining coastal districts of Gujarat during the time of landfall.