Cyclone Nisarga was to hit Mumbai with high impact today. The MET Dept and city administration had put everyone on high alert.
The cyclone was expected to have a speed of 105-110 kmph when it crossed the Mumbai coast this evening. As if to say the city hasn’t had enough! Covid-19 patients were relocated too.
No Arabian Sea cyclone has ever hit Mumbai, thanks to its geography. “God is Great” notwithstanding, Mumbaikars were resigned to the fact that this cyclone would be different from the others.
There were extensive lists of precautions doing the social media rounds, from multiple sources.
We did whatever was needed. Ensured we have enough to eat and drink for the next few days. Got the first aid kit replenished. Moved the clothes drying racks within the house. Took down the wind chimes and other loose items from the balcony. Removed the bulbs from hanging lamps that couldn’t be dismantled. Had the power banks charged. Got candles and matches.
This morning it was drizzly and windy. The most pleasant weather we have seen since the onset of the virus. There are lockdown relaxations, but going out to celebrate the weather was just not an option. We were closely monitoring the cyclone.
By noon we sort of found out that Mumbai was saved from the cyclone yet again!
The winds were firm this evening, screeching through the small safety-gaps we’d left in the windows (as per advice received!). The tall trees in the neighbourhood swayed like upside-down pendulums, but nothing like what we’ve seen in cyclone videos. As the sun set on a relatively peaceful Mumbai, the air was rich with the petrichor emanating from the soil. Mumbai is lucky that the cyclone changed its path. The impact could have rendered thousands homeless and caused severe damage in an already mowed down Covid-19 ridden society.
Pictures from Whatsapp forwards
arathimy 