Cyclone Ockhi Death Toll Rises To Eight, Over 200 Fishermen Missing In Sea As The Winds Show No Signs Of Slowing Down
Cyclone Ockhi shows no signs of slowing down leaving a trail of destruction across two southern states Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The death toll from the cyclonic storm has risen to eight with four each deaths reported from the two affected states. Despite the IMD saying that the cyclone has moved away from Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram heavy rains are expected in south Kerala for the next 24 hours and south Tamil Nadu for thenext 12 hours. Ther...Read More
The deep depression in the Bay of Bengal which intensified into cyclonic storm Ockhi shows no signs of slowing down and is gaining momentum for the second consecutive on Friday, leaving a trail of destruction across two southern states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
PTI
The death toll from the cyclonic storm has risen to eight, with four each deaths reported from the two affected states.
House was swallowed by sea. #Kanyakumari #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/QJA7WpnJKD
¡ª Beslin (@mrbeslin) December 1, 2017
#TamilNadu Standing banana crops were damaged in Tuticorin after heavy rain in the region #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/Qglc7kjT9H
¡ª ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017
Despite the IMD saying that the cyclone has moved away from Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram, heavy rains are expected in south Kerala for the next 24 hours and south Tamil Nadu for the next 12 hours.
As the rain continues, there is a growing concern over the safety of hundreds of fishermen and their boats, feared stranded in the seas due to bad weather. Relatives of the missing fishermen complained that they were caught off-guard and there were no warnings about the cyclone from the government or the met department.
#Kerala: Relatives of missing fishermen mourn in Thiruvananthapuram, say they received no warnings of #CycloneOckhi from the government pic.twitter.com/gewQlJZvPI
¡ª ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017
Four ships of Indian Navy and 2 ships of Indian Coast Guard have been deployed in the seas to look for those stranded, Defence PRO Dhanya Sanal K said.
According to the Navy Spokesperson, 8 fishermen floating in water picked up off the Trivandrum coast while 24 others stranded at sea have been spotted by Navy ships.
Rescued fishermen being brought in by @indiannavy aircraft. Meanwhile i met with 16 from Tamil Nadu rescued by @IndiaCoastGuard &taken to Vizhinjam. pic.twitter.com/CaOrJWCw9P
¡ª Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 1, 2017
Another big concern for the authorities in Kerala is the safety of the thousands of Hindu pilgrims enroute to the Sabarimala shrine.
Keeping their safety in mind the government has asked the pilgrims not to travel during the night and avoid taking shelter under trees.
Some unverified images making rounds in social media claims that many vehicles carrying Sabarimala pilgrims being inundated in the heavy rains.
Another area of concern is the Lakshadweep island archipelago where the cyclone is currently wreaking havoc.
According to local media reports some 160 people have been shifted to safer places after parts of many islands were submerged, in as high as 6 meters of water.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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