NEW DELHI – A cyclone in the Arabian Sea was barreling toward Mumbai in India Tuesday, threatening high winds and flooding in an area already struggling with the nation's highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths.
Cyclone Nisarga was forecast to make landfall Wednesday afternoon on the country's west coast near the coastal city, home to 18.4 million people and known for the Bollywood film industry. Mumbai hasn't been hit by a cyclone in more than a century, raising concerns about its readiness.
National Disaster Response Force personnel were sent to Maharashtra state, home to Mumbai, and nearby Gujarat state. Officials were urging people in at-risk areas to evacuate.
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Maharashtra’s top official, Uddhav Balasheb Thackeray, said on Twitter that residents in Mumbai's expansive slums were ordered to evacuate, though it was not immediately clear if shelters had been set up. He also said about 150 coronavirus patients were moved out of a hospital near the city’s beachfront.
This May 31 satellite image released by NASA shows Cyclone Nisarga roaring toward the western coast of India. (EOSDIS via AP)
India’s meteorological department said the storm could intensify throughout the day Tuesday into a severe cyclone with wind speeds 74 to 102 miles per hour - the fourth most powerful category on the local scale.
Nisarga comes just two weeks after Cyclone Amphan tore through the Bay of Bengal on India's east coast and battered West Bengal state, killing more than 100 people in India and neighboring Bangladesh.
Although post-monsoon flooding is common in Mumbai in the fall, some experts fear the city isn’t prepared for the high winds and storm surges.
CYCLONE AMPHAN RIPS THROUGH INDIA AND BANGLADESH, KILLING DOZENS, LEAVING MILLIONS WITHOUT POWER
“There’s been no test of how the city does in a cyclone," said Adam Sobel, a climate scientist at Columbia University who has studied the risk to Mumbai. “It just makes me nervous.”
Dark clouds gather over the skyline in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
The area is grappling with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Maharashtra and Gujarat states have reported about 44 percent of India's 198,000 COVID-19 cases nationwide, and 61 percent of all virus deaths.
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Local news reports have shown an overwhelmed hospital system in Mumbai, with patients resting on hospital floors until beds become available and bodies left in wards. Doctors associations have reported a growing number of health care workers catching the virus, putting an even greater strain on staffing.
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Indian metropolis of Mumbai braces for rare cyclone - Fox News
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