Cyclone Tauktae: ICG says all but 19 fishing boats have returned to ports in Maharashtra, Gujarat

The Indian Coast Guard on Sunday said that all but 19 fishing boats have returned to ports in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The IMD and the ICG have issued an advisory to the fishermen as the sea turns rough in the coastal states under the impact of cyclone Tauktae.

With Cyclone Tauktae fast approaching the Gujarat coast, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Sunday said that all fishing boats, except 18 in Maharashtra and one in Gujarat, have reached their harbours or taken shelter at nearby ports. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Tauktae has intensified into a "very severe cyclonic storm" and is very likely to reach the Gujarat coast in the evening hours of May 17 and cross it between Porbandar and Mahuva in Bhavnagar district around the early morning of May 18. "Pre-emptive measures in full swing for Maharashtra & Gujarat. Barring 18 boats from Maharashtra and one boat from Gujarat, all boats have either returned harbour or taken shelter in nearby ports," the ICG said on Twitter.