Cyclone Tauktae intensifies after ploughing through coastal Kerala, Karnataka, Goa; 4 dead

Cyclone Tuktae intensified after ploughing through the coastal belt of Kerala, Karnataka and Goa while hurtling northwards towards Gujarat on Sunday, leaving four people dead.

Gale-force winds, heavy rainfall and high tidal waves swept the coastal belt of Kerala, Karnataka and Goa as Cyclone Tauktae hurtled northwards towards Gujarat on Sunday, leaving four people dead, damaging hundreds of houses, uprooting electricity poles and trees and forcing an evacuation. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Tauktae which has taken the form of a "very severe cyclonic storm" is likely to intensify further during the next 24 hours and reach the Gujarat coast on Monday evening. An estimated 1.5 lakh people are being shifted from low-lying coastal areas in Gujarat while 54 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in the state.