India, afflicted by the Corona crisis, is exposed to the strongest hurricane to hit the western coast of the country

Weather of Arabia - On Monday (May 17), India was hit by the strongest storm ever reaching its western coast, which impeded the authorities' response to deal with the disastrous Corona virus crisis facing the country.

Tropical Cyclone Taocta (Tauktae), is a sophisticated hurricane of Category 3 formed in the Arabian Sea, reached landfall on Monday night local time in the Indian state of Gujarat. Its strength increased slightly as it struck the western state with maximum winds of 205 km / h, and by Tuesday morning, it had weakened from a "very severe cyclone storm" to a "severe typhoon storm," according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

(Waves hit a coastline in Mumbai on May 17th as Cyclone Taukta hits India)

Photos and videos show highways turned into rivers due to torrential rains, trees and power lines toppled by strong winds. The cyclone has killed at least 26 people in the coastal states of Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, according to state authorities. Disaster management authorities said the deaths were caused by drowning in the sea, house collapses, lightning strikes and other accidents related to severe weather.

This comes at a time when India is exposed to the second wave of the Corona virus, which has infected millions and killed tens of thousands since it began in mid-March. Although daily case numbers began to decline over the past week, the death toll has continued to break record levels and the crisis is not over - especially in rural areas with fewer resources and medical supplies.

Covid patients were among the hundreds of thousands evacuated from low-lying areas this week as the region prepares for the arrival of the typhoon. In Mumbai, 580 patients from temporary care centers were transferred to various hospitals on Friday and Saturday, according to the city’s municipal authority.

This isn't the first time India has dealt with natural disasters during a pandemic - last year, the country faced hurricanes in late May and early June that also led to mass evacuations.

(Corona virus vaccination center in Mumbai, India, as part of its entrance was blown off by the strong winds of the cyclone on May 17)

At the time, cases in India were still relatively low, with fewer than 10,000 cases per day, and the country was emerging from a strict lockdown. But this time, India is the global epicenter of the epidemic, the healthcare system in hospitals has collapsed and patients are still dying from lack of oxygen and other supplies, and the Indian government is struggling to contain the outbreak while facing severe criticism at home and abroad.

The typhoon may just be a harbinger of more disasters to come, as India's months-long monsoon season approaches.

The strong blow of the tornado

State Chief Minister Vijay Rubani said on Monday that more than 200,000 people in Gujarat have been evacuated from coastal areas. The Indian Meteorologist (IMD) has warned that storms of up to 4 meters can lead to major coastal floods in the region. Ahmedabad, the most populous city in Gujarat, could see nearly 102 mm of rain in the next 24 to 48 hours - more than the average rainfall from January to June.

The National Disaster Response Force in India (NDRF) has deployed more than 100 teams across six coastal states to assist the efforts on the ground. The Indian Army was also deployed. On Tuesday, the Navy said it had rescued 177 people from a barge that sank in an offshore oil field off the coast of Mumbai.

The impact of the hurricane, traveling northward, on the epidemic relief effort

Of the 400 hospitals designated for Coronavirus patients in Gujarat, the electricity supply to 100 hospitals was disrupted today, Tuesday, and despite the presence of backup generators in all hospitals, but these devices failed in four hospitals, leaving them without electricity, the authorities are working hard to repair the damaged generators.

The typhoon temporarily halted vaccinations across Gujarat, and the typhoon also disrupted the transportation of oxygen to hospitals already suffering from shortages.