Cyclone Ockhi: The Navy, Air Force are Coast Guards rescue stranded people in cyclone hit areas
The intensification of a depression over the Bay of Bengal on Thursday caused a cyclone, named
Cyclone Ockhi. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, Cyclone Ockhi will now intensify and is likely to change its course towards the Gujarat coast. Mumbai may witness light rains as a result around 4th December, Skymet tweeted. In its course the cyclone wreaked havoc in coastal Tamil Nadu and Kerala before battering Lakshadweep.
The cyclone has claimed 13 lives and left thousands stranded in rescue centres. Water logging and power cuts have brought the cyclone-hit areas to a standstill apart from causing damages to property and blocking highways affecting transport and communication services.
Rescue operations are being carried out by the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. In Kerala, 155 fishermen have been rescued while around 150 have returned home on their own.
The storm has been named Ockhi by Bangladesh which means "eye" in Bengali.
Here are the LIVE updates on cyclone Ockhi:
Fishermen from near Kerala, who were caught in rough seas due to Cyclone Ockhi, have reached Maharashtra's Sindhudurg coast and are safe, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said this evening.
"In all 68 fishing boats, out of which 66 are from Kerala and two from Tamil Nadu, have reached with total 952 fishermen on board. All are safe," the Maharashtra chief minister said in a tweet.
The bodies of four Kerala fishermen were recovered on Saturday, taking the toll to six so far in the aftermath of Cyclone Ockhi, while there is no word about 102 fishermen from the state who ventured to the deep sea.
The bodies were found as part of rescue operations launched by the Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard after Cyclone Ockhi hit the southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
While the identity of one of the dead has been found, the other three bodies brought to the shores on Saturday were in a decomposed stage and identification became difficult.
According to official figures, 37 fishermen from Kerala were rescued in the joint operations, while some others returned on their own. By Saturday evening, the total number of fishermen who had returned stood at 450, while there is no word about 102 from the state who continue to be missing.
Family members of around 1,000 fishermen and residents of some Cyclone Ockhi-hit localities in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari hit the streets in protest on Saturday to draw the attention of the authorities to their plight and seek intensified search for the kin out on the high seas.
Family members of around 1,000 fishermen who ventured into the deep seas when Cyclone Ockhi struck the southern Tamil Nadu coast have demanded that aerial searches and rescue operations be launched to trace the missing men.
On the other hand people living in a locality in Nagercoil protested against the official apathy to their basic needs like drinking water, milk for children and power supply.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami writes to Home Minister Rajnath Singh to deploy naval helicopters to search for missing Tamil Nadu fishermen.
150 fishermen from Tamil Nadu & Kerala are now safe in Lakshadweep. Speaking to NDTV, Lakshadweep administrator Faruk Khan said, "Many boats have been cited here. Some fishermen have moved to the land but most of them have chosen to stay on board. We will alert authorities in both states soon after we do enumeration".
IMD weather bulletin says Cyclone Ockhi is likely to intensify further and move towards the north Tamil Nadu and the south Andhra Pradesh coast during the next 3-4 days.
Mumbai will witness light showers on December 4 as Cyclone Ockhi changes course towards the Gujarat coast, private weather monitoring agency Skymet said in a tweet.
India Coast Guard tweeted this picture of the 15 fishermen who were rescued at sea off Vizhinjam Coast in Kerala.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced compensation worth Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased due to the cyclone. The chief minister also said that about 400 people have been rescued from the sea so far.
Cyclone Ockhi is expected to travel north towards Mumbai and Gujarat in the next 48 hours but is likely to lose its intensity, news agency Reuters quoted IMD Director S. Sudevan in Thiruvananthapuram.
New agency ANI quoted Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar saying 6 boats & 73 fishermen have been rescued by INS ships. Search operations are still underway to bring back 33 missing boats and 95 missing fishermen.
The mammoth search and rescue operation has been named Operation Synergy - since it is being being done in close coordination by Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force. Warships have been deployed to aid the rescue operation.
Distressed fishermen's families have blocked the National Highway in Thiruvananthapuram, upset that their relatives are still missing and haven't returned from the sea, reports NDTV's Sneha Koshy.
Indian Coast Guard tweeted saying search and rescue operation in Cyclone Ockhi hit areas are continuing with 9 ships and 2 Dornier Aircraft off Kerala and Tamil Nadu Coast. 52 fishermen have been rescued so far. International Safety Net (ISN) has been activated to advise Merchant Traffic to render assistance.
Principal Spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence tweeted that Coast Guard Ship C-427 has rescued two fishing boats off the coastal town of Vizhinjam which went missing from Kanyakumari when Cyclone Ockhi hit the coastal areas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami last night and has assured adequate help to aid the coastal state to stride over the calamity.
The Thiruvananthapuram district administration is preparing an updated list of fishermen who have not yet contacted their families.
Destruction caused by strong winds and high tides in Lakshadweep.