At least six people were killed and thousands were evacuated from Western India in the last two days amid heavy rain accompanied by storms.

The meteorological department said the storm has now intensified into an "extremely severe cyclonic storm".

India has already been facing numbers of death after the collapse of the Indian health care system due to COVID 19.

The storm is expected to make landfall in Gujarat on Monday night with wind speeds of up to 160km/h (99mph).

Both Gujarat and its neighboring state Maharashtra are on high alert amid forecasts of heavy rains and wind due to the Tauktae cyclone.

Cases are on the wane in both states, but they are still recovering from the effects of a devastating second wave.

More than 150,000 people in low-lying areas of the state have already been moved to shelters, sparking fears of possible new outbreaks in the coming weeks. And the federal government has also ordered the vaccine drive to be halted in several coastal towns believed to be at risk.

The storm also adds to the challenge facing India's hospitals and Covid centers - Maharashtra's capital Mumbai, for instance, which is on the coast and high alert, has already moved 580 Covid positive patients from dedicated centers to civic hospitals as a precaution.