A devastating cyclone hits India
A strong cyclone accompanied by violent winds hit India, threatening to raise the level of sea waves, which disrupted the government's efforts to confront the outbreak of the devastating new Corona virus.
At least six people died at the end of the week in torrential rains and storms, while Taoktay, the largest cyclone to hit western India in 30 years, according to press reports, swept the Arabian Sea as it headed for Gujarat.
The Indian Meteorological Authority said that the "extremely severe cyclone" is expected to land today, between 8 and 11 pm local time (14:30 - 17:30 GMT) with winds ranging between 155-165 kilometers per hour.
The authority warned of the danger of sea waves rising to up to three meters in some coastal areas of Gujarat.
And the weather phenomenon that can be seen from the air threatens to exacerbate the difficulties in India to limit the high number of infections with the Corona virus, which kills nearly four people a day and pushes hospitals to the brink of collapse.
In flooded Bombay, where authorities closed the airport for several hours on Monday and urged people to stay inside, yesterday, 580 COVID-19 patients were transferred from three field hospitals to "safer places".
In Gujarat, where the authorities evacuated more than 100,000 people from 17 districts last night, all Covid patients were transferred from hospitals within five kilometers of the coast.
The authorities are also making strenuous efforts to ensure that electricity is not cut off in hospitals designated for epidemic patients, which number about 140, and 41 facilities for the production of oxygen in 12 coastal areas, where the hurricane is expected to hit its heaviest blow.
"To ensure that Covid hospitals do not face power cuts, 1,383 backup power units have been set up," said local official Pankaj Kumar.
He added, "35 + green crossings + have been provided to supply oxygen to Covid hospitals."
The officials stressed the need to respect measures to protect against the virus, such as wearing masks, physical distancing, and using disinfectants, in shelters for evacuated people.
And the state, which has officially recorded 9,000 deaths from the virus, and the number may be much higher, according to experts, suspending vaccination operations for two days.
Bombay also suspended vaccination for one day.
Thousands of members of the disaster relief teams were deployed, while units of the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Army and the Air Force were put on alert, according to a statement by Interior Minister Amit Shah.
Four people died on Saturday in the state of Goa, which recorded one of the worst toll from the pandemic in the past weeks.
Electricity was cut off and trees were uprooted.
Two other people were reported dead in Kerala, where 23 fishermen are also feared missing, according to local media.
And the vast country with a population of 1.3 billion people, today, 4100 deaths from the virus and 280 thousand infections were recorded in the past twenty-four hours, which raises the toll to 25 million cases, which is more than twice the number recorded on the first of April.
Last May, more than 110 people died when Cyclone Amban swept eastern India and Bangladesh, destroying villages and farms and depriving millions of people of electricity.
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