Cyclone Ockhi to curve in to Maharashtra and Gujarat

Senior IMD scientist says the cyclone is likely to weaken now; nine dead in Kerala, relief ships head to Lakshadweep islands

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,KERALA::02/12/2017:: Family members of fishermen stay put at the Poonthura St Thomas Church on Saturday awaiting the return of their kin who are struck in the sea due to the cyclone Ockhi. ..........Photo:S_Gopakumar.



Cyclone Ockhi, predicted to pass over the Lakshwadeep islands and veer away from mainland India will now turn and head towards parts of coastal Maharashtra and South Gujarat, says the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

However, a senior scientist from the agency said it was unlikely to cause much havoc as there was not much moisture in the Arabian Sea for the weakening cyclone to draw on. “Recurving cyclones are rare but barring some clouds and maybe light rain, I don’t think it will be like what is now seen in Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” he said.

The death toll in Kerala due to the cyclone has gone up to nine. Two people from Ernakulam were drowned in a storm surge. Authorities are trying to identify four bodies recovered from the sea.

As many as 6007 persons were accommodated in 34 relief camps opened by the district administration in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram.

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Tardy relief on Lakshadweep islands

Lakshadweep MP P.P. Mohammed Faizal, MP, speaking to The Hindu on the phone said, “Hundreds of houses have been damaged as trees fell over them.”

“The India Reserve Battalion and the Marine Department are working round the clock to provide relief to the affected, but the Navy and the Coast Guard fell way short of our expectations and only carried out perfunctory search and rescue. It is unfortunate that the Coast Guard, which has a ship stationed in the area, couldn’t ensure their rescue. A naval ship on its way to the islands now has now launched its helicopter to locate them,” Mr. Faizal said.

Sources in the Navy said two ships, INS Sharda and INS Shardul , loaded with relief material were approaching the islands. “Four ships of the Western Naval Command have also been diverted to augment the relief work in view of the gravity of the situation,” they said.

An officer, on condition on anonymity, said the rough seas had prevented the smaller Fast Interceptor Craft (FICs) stationed at Lakshadweep from undertaking any search and rescue. “The type of relief work needed is only getting clearer now,” he said.

Government sources in the island group said there were some 130 fishermen from Kerala and Tamil Nadu in safe shelters on four islands — Kalpeni, Kiltan, Chetlat and Agatti — and had received medical aid. There were reports of an unmanned dhow going adrift and another with eight crew members missing.

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Families seek details

Tension prevailed in the coastal hamlets of Nagercoil and Kanyakumari over the fate of missing fishermen. The families of the fishermen have asked the State government to reveal details of where they are lodged so that they can be contacted.

Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar, however, told reporters on Saturday that more than 800 fishermen had been located in Lakshadweep, Kanataka and Gujarat.

“We were worried about the safety of nearly 100 fishermen, but on Saturday we received a message from the Kerala Government that their fisheries department patrol boats have rescued 60 of them off Kerala coast. The rescued fishermen from Colachel are on their way back home. We hope that the search operation by the Navy and Coast Guard will yield good results soon,” said a senior fisheries official.

(With T. Nandakumar in Thiruvananthapuram, P. Sudhakar in Nagercoil, S. Anandan in Kochi)