A cyclone Taukte is expected to make landfall on early Tuesday morning as the country is already battling a second wave of coronavirus pandemic, deadlier than elsewhere.

At least six people have been killed and large areas inundated, houses destroyed and trees and power lines uprooted by a severe cyclone that hovered off India's western coast on Sunday.

"CycloneAlert for Gujarat & Diu coasts: VSCS Tauktae to cross Gujarat coast between Porbandar & Mahuva (Bhavnagar district) around 18th May early morning. At 1130 hours IST of today, it lay near 15.7°N/72.7°E, about 120 km west-northwest of Panjim-Goa,380 km south-southwest of Mumbai," Indian Metrological Department tweeted.

The forecast warned of heavy damage along with coastal Gujarat and said wind speeds could reach 175 kilometers per hour.

"All measures being taken to evacuate people in the areas affected by the cyclone to ensure zero loss of life," the government said in a statement.