Coronavirus patients were among more than 100,000 people evacuated from low-lying coastal areas in India's western states as a cyclone advanced toward Mumbai in Maharashtra today.
Cyclone Nisarga made landfall at around 1 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET) with wind speeds of up to 110 kph (68 mph), according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
The cyclone, which formed in the Arabian sea on Tuesday morning, hit Alibag town, south of Mumbai.
Cyclones in that part of the country are relatively rare -- Mumbai, India's financial center and home to 18 million people, was last hit by a major storm in 1948.
The arrival of Cyclone Nisarga today comes as Maharashtra grapples with India's worst coronavirus outbreak. Hospitals are struggling to treat an influx of patients as the confirmed number of cases in that state passes 72,300, with more than 2,400 deaths.
Ahead of landfall, the cyclone strengthened to the equivalent of just below a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane, or a Severe Cyclonic Storm in the West Pacific.
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