The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday said that Cyclone 'Montha' is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by the morning of October 28.
The IMD also issued a Red Alert for several coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh for Monday, October 27. The storm is forecast to strengthen further into a severe cyclonic storm before making landfall late on Tuesday.
In its bulletin issued at 9:47 am, IMD said that the cyclone over the Southwest and adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal moved northwestwards at a speed of 15 kmph during the past six hours.
As of 5:30 am on Monday, it lay centered over the Southwest and adjoining areas of the Westcentral and Southeast Bay of Bengal, near latitude 12.2°N and longitude 85.3°E, approximately:
560 km east-southeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
620 km south-southeast of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh)
650 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
790 km south of Gopalpur (Odisha)
810 km west of Port Blair (Andaman & Nicobar Islands)
The system is likely to continue moving northwestwards over the Southwest and adjoining Westcentral Bay of Bengal during the next 12 hours, and then turn north-northwestwards, intensifying into a severe cyclonic storm by the morning of 28th October.
Continuing to move further north-northwestwards, it is very likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, during the evening or night of 28th October as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with maximum sustained wind speeds of 90–100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.
Coastal Andhra districts on high alert
In view of the impending threat, the IMD has sounded a Red Alert for Monday, October 27, for the following coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, indicating the likelihood of heavy to very heavy rainfall and strong winds, Prakasam, Bapatla, Krishna, Nellore, West Godavari, Konaseema and Kakinada.
State disaster response forces have been mobilised, and authorities have advised fishermen not to venture into the sea.
For Tuesday, a red alert has been issued for Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Anakapalle, Kakinada, Yanam, BR Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, NTR, Krishna, Guntur and Bapatla districts.
Orange alert has been sounded for Parvathipuram Manyam, Palnadu, Prakasam, SPSR Nellore, Tirupati, YSR Kadapa, Kurnool and Nandyal districts, while Chittoor, Annamayya, Sri Sathya Sai and Anantapur remain under a yellow alert.
In view of the evolving situation, several trains have been cancelled and holiday has declared for schools.
All 30 Odisha distict on high alert; Govt starts evacuation
The Odisha government on Sunday put all 30 districts on alert as the depression in the Bay of Bengal - Montha - intensified into a deep depression.
Odisha is set to experience very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on October 28 and 29, officials added further.
Furthermore, the weather office also hoisted Distant Cautionary Signal No-I (DC-1) at all ports of Odisha and advised fishermen not to venture into the sea till October 29.
The Odisha government has started evacuating people from vulnerable places and deployed 128 disaster response teams in eight southern districts of the state.
The state government has started the evacuation of people from vulnerable hilly and low-lying areas of eight southern districts, which could be impacted due to the impending calamity, Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said.
"The state government is well prepared to face the eventuality, and arrangements have been made in the possible impact areas.
The administration will complete the process of evacuation of people from vulnerable places by 5 pm on Monday," the minister said.
Though the cyclone will cross the Andhra Pradesh Coast, it will have an impact on Odisha's southern and coastal regions, for which the state government has made all arrangements to save men and animals with a goal of 'zero casualty', Pujari said.
Orange alert in Tamil Nadu
The IMD has issued an orange alert for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for October 27 and 28. This warning comes as cyclonic storm Montha nears the eastern coast of India.
Furthermore, an orange alert for rain is active for Chennai and other districts on Monday as states nearby prepare for Montha's landfall.
