A monster cyclone hit India on Tuesday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain that killed at least 20 people and disrupted the vaccination program that the country desperately needs to contain the spiraling Covid-19 pandemic.
Cyclone Tauktae wreaked havoc across large swaths of the country, crashing massive waves onto beaches, turning streets into rivers, and causing hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate.
As savage winds whipped through flimsy homes and uprooted trees and electricity pylons, the gigantic swirling system — the largest to strike the area in decades — claimed lives in Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
Though sea levels swelled as high as three meters (10 feet) near the seaside town of Diu, Mumbai authorities closed the airport and advised residents to remain indoors, relocating about 600 Covid-19 patients in field hospitals “to safer places.”
The defense ministry said late Monday that two navy ships had been sent to help in search and rescue operations for a barge carrying 273 people adrift off the coast of Mumbai, with 28 people having been found so far.
