With Cyclone Montha intensifying over the Bay of Bengal and expected to make landfall near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday evening or night, both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh governments have stepped up preparedness, evacuating people from vulnerable areas and putting rescue teams on high alert, PTI reported.
The Odisha government on Monday evacuated around 3,000 people, including 1,496 pregnant women, from low-lying and hilly regions across eight southern districts — Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi and Kandhamal, where a red alert has been sounded.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the evacuation drive, which prioritises pregnant women, the elderly and persons with disabilities, aims to move 32,528 people to safety as the state targets “zero casualty” in the impending calamity. “We have opened 1,445 cyclone shelters and arranged food, medicine, lighting and care for domestic animals,” he said after reviewing the situation in the evening, PTI reported.
A total of 140 rescue teams — from the NDRF, ODRAF and Fire Service — have been deployed, up from 128 earlier. “Arrangements have been made to restore electricity within 24 hours of the cyclone,” said Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) D K Singh, adding that power backup is ready in all hospitals and drinking water units.
Pujari said rainfall had already begun in parts of southern and coastal Odisha, including Bhubaneswar, and would intensify on October 28 and 29. Landslides are a major concern in the hilly Gajapati district, where 139 vulnerable locations have been identified. Government employees’ leave has been cancelled till October 30, and schools and anganwadi centres in nine districts have been ordered shut until then.
The SRC said all ports in Odisha have hoisted Distant Cautionary Signal No-I, and fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea till October 29. “Most fishermen have already returned,” he said. Ganjam district has provided shelter to over 100 Andhra fishermen who will return home once the weather normalises, PTI added.
According to the latest IMD bulletin issued at 8.30 pm, Cyclone Montha — meaning “fragrant flower” in Thai, was centred over the west-central and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal at 5.30 pm, around 450 km south-southeast of Kakinada, 500 km south of Visakhapatnam and 670 km south of Gopalpur. The system is moving northwestwards at about 15 kmph and is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning. It is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, on the evening or night of October 28 with maximum sustained wind speeds of 90–100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph.
In Odisha’s southern coastal areas, wind speeds may reach 60–70 kmph, gusting up to 80 kmph, from Tuesday evening. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast for October 28 and 29, after which the system is expected to weaken and move towards Chhattisgarh as a cyclonic storm.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured all possible central assistance to Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said after the PM called to review the situation, PTI reported. Naidu held a high-level meeting via Real Time Governance System (RTGS), directing officials to strengthen canal banks, prepare for floods, and monitor the cyclone’s movement hourly.
“All fishermen have been brought back to shore. Medical teams, NDRF units, and engineering departments are on standby for restoration operations post-cyclone,” an official release cited by PTI said. Relief measures announced include Rs 3,000 cash, 25 kg rice, and other essentials per family in relief camps. Heavy to very heavy rains are forecast in Krishna district, and heavy rainfall is expected in Guntur, Bapatla, NTR, Palnadu and West Godavari districts over the next two days.
East Coast Railway has also announced cancellation, diversion and short termination of some trains operating in the Waltair region and adjoining routes as precautionary measures, PTI reported.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday forecast high sea waves along the Andhra Pradesh coast from Nellore to Srikakulam, ranging between 2 and 4.7 metres.
In a joint bulletin, the agencies had warned that the high waves were expected for six hours, between 5.30 pm and 11.30 pm on October 27 and a storm surge of about one metre above the astronomical tide could inundate low-lying areas of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam around the time of landfall.
In a separate development, the IMD said a depression has formed over the east-central Arabian Sea, lying stationary near latitude 16.7°N and longitude 67.3°E — about 570 km southwest of Veraval (Gujarat) and 650 km west-southwest of Mumbai. The system, distinct from Cyclone Montha, is likely to move north-northeastwards across the east-central Arabian Sea over the next 48 hours.
Even as Montha gathers strength, most parts of Tamil Nadu remained largely dry on Monday. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai, however, issued an orange alert for Tiruvallur district for Tuesday and yellow alerts for Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Theni, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari.
With the system steering away from the Tamil Nadu coast, rainfall activity is expected to remain moderate to heavy over north coastal districts on Tuesday and ease considerably after landfall on Wednesday.
Light to moderate rain was reported in a few areas of Chennai, while most interior districts remained dry. Fishermen along Tamil Nadu and south Andhra coasts have been warned of strong winds and rough sea conditions.
(With inputs from PTI)
