Skip to main content
May 18, 2021 - World

In photos: Deadly Cyclone Tauktae leaves trail of destruction across India

Rebecca Falconer
A policeman helps a public transport driver to cross a flooded street due to heavy rain caused by cyclone 'Tauktae' in Mumbai.

A police officer helps a public transport driver cross a flooded street due to heavy rain caused by Tropical Cyclone Tauktae in Mumbai, India, on May 17. Photo: Ashish Vaishnav/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Tropical Cyclone Tauktae killed at least 16 people in India after making landfall in Gujarat Monday, packing 100mph winds, as the country continued to face surging infection rates and deaths from COVID-19, per Reuters.

The big picture: Tauktae unleashed heavy rains and winds as it moved across Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. Over 200,000 people were evacuated from Gujarat, and ports, airports and vaccination centers shut across the state and Mumbai, Reuters reports. Tauktae weakened from a Category 3 storm to a "severe cyclonic storm" Tuesday.

Waves lash over onto a shoreline in Mumbai on May 17, as Cyclone Tauktae, packing ferocious winds bears down on India.
Waves lash over onto a shoreline in Mumbai on May 17, as Cyclone Tauktae, bears down on India. Heavy rains and powerful winds destroyed homes, downed trees and caused power outages in several states, the BBC reports. Photo: Sujit Jaiswal/AFP via Getty Images
A picture taken on May 17, 2021 shows a truck loaded with oxygen cylinders stuck as trees fell due to impact of approaching Cyclone Tauktae, near Mahuva, in Gujarat state, western India.
A truck loaded with oxygen cylinders gets stuck as trees fall due to the approaching cyclone near Mahuva, in Gujarat state, western India. Per meteorologist Jeff Masters, it's the fifth-strongest cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea. Photo: Sam Panthaky/AFP via Getty Images
Trucks are stranded on a flooded highway near Diu on May 18, 2021,
Trucks are stranded on a flooded highway near Diu, western India, on May 18. Photo: Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images
Police and rescue personnel evacuate a local resident through a flooded street in a coastal area after heavy rains under the influence of cyclone 'Tauktae' in Kochi on May 14
Rescue personnel evacuate a resident through a flooded street in a coastal area of Kochi, southwest India, after heavy rains from the cyclone on May 14. Photo: Arunchandra Bose/AFP via Getty Images
Go deeper