Mumbai: A flight traveling from Chennai to Mumbai, scheduled at 8:15 AM, has been diverted to Surat on Monday due to an alert for Cyclone Tauktae. Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said, ” A flight traveling from Chennai to Mumbai schedule at 8.15 am today was diverted to Surat”.
“Due to cyclone alert, Mumbai Airport operations need to be closed from 1100 hours to 1400 hours of 17th May”, said MIAL in an earlier statement.
A heavy downpour accompanied by gusty winds was today witnessed at the Gateway of India in Mumbai due to the effect of the cyclone.
The Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai will also be closed for commuters till further notice due to heavy wind speed triggered due to the effect of Cyclone Tauktae, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), asking people to take alternate routes.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted moderate to intense spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 90-100 km per hour at isolated places in the districts of Raigad, Palghar, Mumbai, Thane, and Ratnagiri.
Earlier, the IMD had stated that Cyclone Tauktae is likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm within the next 24 hours and that it will cross the western coast of Gujarat in the early morning of May 18.