Cyclone Tauktae Death Toll Jumps as Navy Recovers Victims of Sunken Barge

 Ron Brackett

Published: May 20, 2021

The death toll from Cyclone Tauktae in India continues to climb as the navy pulls more bodies from the Arabian Sea.

So far, ships have recovered the bodies of 37 people who were on a barge that sank as Tautkae neared landfall Monday. A search continues for another 38 missing crew members, the Associated Press reported.

On Wednesday one person died and three others were injured as the remnants of Tautkae caused heavy rainfall and gusty winds in the northern state of Rajasthan, the Times of India reported.

At least 45 people were killed by the storm in the state of Gujarat, where Tauktae roared ashore late Monday, the Press Institute of India reported. Most of those deaths involved collapsing walls and roofs or falling trees.

The Hindu newspaper reported that more than 16,000 houses were damaged in Gujarat, AP reported.

Earlier AP had reported that six people were killed Monday in Maharashtra and six people died in Kerala, Karnataka and Goa states as Tauktae moved along the western coast.

Tauktae was the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane at landfall, with maximum sustained winds estimated at 125 mph, according to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. This tied Tauktae with a May 1999 cyclone for the strongest cyclone by estimated wind speed to landfall in Gujarat, according to NOAA's database.

The India Meteorological Department said Wednesday the system has weakened into a depression over south Rajasthan and adjoining Gujarat, the Indian Express reported. It is likely to gradually weaken.

In neighboring Nepal, the country's Department of Tourism has asked mountain climbers to descend from high altitudes because the storm might bring severe weather, AP reported.

Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest peaks, including Mount Everest, has hundreds of climbers, guides and staff trying to summit various mountains this month.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.