Police and rescue personnel evacuate a local resident through a flooded street in a coastal area after heavy rains under the influence of cyclone 'Tauktae' in Kochi on May 14, 2021. (Arunchandra BOSE / AFP)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold an important meeting on Saturday to review preparations to deal with impending Cyclone Tauktae, government sources said.

Top officers from across government departments, including the National Disaster Management Authority, will attend the meeting, they said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said on Friday that the depression in the Arabian Sea is likely to intensify into a "very severe cyclonic storm" on May 17 and cross the Gujarat coast a day later,

The weather condition has intensified into a deep depression. It is very likely to further intensify into cyclonic storm 'Tauktae' by Saturday morning and very likely to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm by Saturday night, it had said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has earmarked 53 teams to tackle possible after effects of Cyclone 'Tauktae' that is developing in the Arabian Sea.