Panaji: A sudden gale struck the Konkan coast on Monday night, sinking five fishing trawlers off the coast of Karnataka near Mangalore.
Two of the trawlers have been recovered but three are still lost at sea and the exact number of casualties has not been determined yet.
Windspeeds in Goa reached 40-50 kmph causing damage on the coast where trees were uprooted and minor road accidents took place.
On Monday, two aircraft were kept ready in Goa even as two extra fast patrol vessels from New Mangalore Port and one from Kochi rushed to Malpe port in the West coast where about 350 fishing vessels were stranded following bad weather.
Deputy Inspector General R M Sharma commanding the Goa Coast Guard said he had also alerted the state administration to direct the fishermen not to venture into the sea for at least four days due to the prevailing rough weather.
The Mangalore and Kochi Coast Guard had already moved the off shore patrol vessels, with the Karnataka government alerting them.
Poor visibility and rough sea conditions had prevented the aircraft from moving out from Goa.
The fishing vessels had been stranded about 15 miles away from the Malpe port.
It has been raining continuously for the past eight hours in the entire Konkan region and lanslides have occured in some areas.
Heavy rainfall has also disrupted train services in the area, with trains running three to five hours late.
The Janshatabdi Express between Mumbai and Panjim and the Mandvi Express from Mumbai to Panjim is running late by four hours.
A flood-like situation has arisen in Khed and Chiplun and two deaths have been reported in Sindhudurga district.
The Coast Guard rescued 20 crew members of a Singaporean ship M V Ocean Seraya, off the coast off Malpet in Mangalore and a trawler capsized off the coast of Goa.
Eight crew members of the trawler were saved but one is still missing.
In Mumbai too, monsoons seem to have come earlier than expected. Though the Met Department had predicted the first showers around the first week of June, the weather surprised all with light rains early on Tuesday morning.
With last year's deluge creating havoc in the city, Mumbaikars seem to be keeping their fingers crossed even as they enjoyed these sudden drops from above.
Rain and thundershowers are likely to occur at most places over Kerala, Lakshadweep and coastal Karnataka, at many places over interior Karntaka and at a few places over Andhra Pradesh during the next two days.
Isolated rain or thundershowers are also likely to occur over Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.
Details of trains running late:
6334 Trivandrum-Veraval Exp – running one hr 20 mins late at Kudal
2617 Ernakulam-Nizamuddin Mangala Exp – running three hr 15 mins late at Sangameshwar
0104 Mandavi Exp – running one hr late at Vaibhavwadi/Rajapur
6346 Trivandrum-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Netravati Exp – running one hr late at Adavali
2052 Janshatabdi Exp – running two hrs late at Sawantwadi and Kudal
0103 Mandavi Exp – 1 hr 25 mins at Chiplun
6345 Netravati Exp – 1 hr 10 mins at Khed
2619 Matsyagandha Exp – 30 mins at Mangaon
(With inputs from Agencies)
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