The Cyclone Tauktae has turned into an "extremely severe cyclonic storm", the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday. The rapid intensification happened in the early hours of Monday, said the IMD which had earlier not predicted that Tauktae will intensify into an extremely severe cyclonic storm.
With Cyclone Tauktae expected to make landfall in the coastal parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra soon, medical oxygen producers in the region are worried about possible power cuts that will impact output and the Centre has been requested to help with routing back-up supplies from the eastern parts of India to the two States.
As a precautionary measure, Gujarat administration shifted over one lakh people living in coastal areas of 17 districts to safer places till late Sunday night, and the work resumed on Monday morning.