India braces for Cyclone Tauktae as storm threatens to derail Covid-19 vaccine rollout
The strongest cyclone in over twenty years is set to hit the western Indian state of Gujarat on Monday evening and is causing further disruption to India's Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
At least 12 people have already died as Cyclone Tauktae brushed past India's western coast states. The death toll is already expected to be much higher from the “extremely severe” storm as 28 fishing boats are missing in the Arabian Sea, according to an Indian official.
The strength of the cyclone is on par with a Category Three hurricane. Almost 150,000 people have already been evacuated from their homes in Gujarat. This is leading to fears of a renewed spread of Covid-19 as residents huddle together in large numbers in storm shelters.
“This will be the most severe cyclone to hit Gujarat in at least 20 years. This can be compared with the 1998 cyclone that hit Kandla and inflicted heavy damage,” said Pankaj Kumar, Gujarat’s state revenue secretary. The 1998 cyclone which decimated Gujarat killed at least 4,000 people and caused £2.1 billion of damage, according to the local media.
Cyclone Tauktae sustained gusts of 130 miles per hour as the edge of the storm made landfall in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra on Monday. India’s financial capital of Mumbai experienced extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds, causing structural damage to buildings and uprooting trees.
The city’s stuttering Covid-19 vaccination rollout, which has already suffered regular disruptions due to dose shortages, was suspended again after residents were urged to stay inside due to storm surges and severe waterlogging.
In Goa, many beach shacks were completely destroyed by tidal surges, with proprietors already struggling to make ends meet after Covid-19 has resulted in a significant drop in tourist footfall.
Meanwhile, the head of Unicef has asked G7 countries to donate their surplus vaccine supplies to COVAX to address the severe shortfall caused by disruption to Indian vaccine exports.
India is one of the world’s largest producers of Covid-19 vaccines but it has temporarily suspended exports to COVAX to speed up its domestic vaccination programme amidst a second wave of the virus which has caused its healthcare system to collapse.
The Indian Government is facing unprecedented criticism over the rollout. On Sunday, posters were put up around Delhi questioning why India’s beleaguered Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, had permitted the export of 66 million doses.
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