Cyclone Tauktae kills five in Thane and Palghar districts

Five persons were killed in Thane and Palghar districts in various incidents related to cyclonic storm Tauktae, officials said on Tuesday.

While two persons were killed in Vasai taluka, three others died in Thane district, they said.

The deceased included a 51-year-old auto-rickshaw driver who was killed after a tree fell on his vehicle in Valiv area of Palghar district on Monday, police said.

Read | Cyclone Tauktae brings heavy rainfall to Palghar

Besides, a 40-year-old man died after being crushed by cement blocks that fell from the roof of a house due to high winds in Valiv area, they said.

In Thane, a 75-year-old woman was killed after a tree collapsed on her house in Kashimira area due to heavy rains, police said.

A highcompound wall of a housing complex collapsed in Lokpuram area of Thane in the wee hours of Tuesday, but there was no casualty, regional disaster management cell (RDMC) chief Santosh Kadam said.

As many as 337 houses, the majority of them in Dahanu taluka, were partially damaged in Palghar district due to heavy rains caused by the cyclone, district collector Manik Gursal said.

The buildings of two schools in Palghar and Wada were also damaged.

Officials said 34 electricity poles, mostly in Talasari taluka, were damaged in the cyclone besides two boats.

At least 200 people from 57 families from Vasai taluka were evacuated to safety on Monday, the Palghar collector said.

MSEDCL superintending engineer Kiran Nagavkar said nine of the total 38 sub-stations in the Palghar district were affected due to the cyclone.

He said the work to restore power slowed down as transmission cables got snapped after trees fell on them due to high-speed winds.