Bhubaneswar: Coastal districts of Odisha have been experiencing rain and strong winds on Tuesday with Cyclone Montha over westcentral Bay of Bengal nearing the coast.
The storm was positioned at 50 km from Machilipatnam, 130 km from Kakinada, and 470 km from Gopalpur at 4.30 pm on Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). It is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm as a severe cyclonic storm. The wind speed during landfall is expected in the range of 90–110 km/h, gusting up to 110 km/h.
Although Montha is not forecast to directly hit Odisha, its impact is likely to be felt across southern districts. Red and orange warning has been issued for the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Khurda, Puri, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Balangir and Sonepur on October 28-29. Scattered heavy to very heavy falls (7 to 20cm) with isolated extremely heavy rainfall (>20cm) may occur at isolated places in the districts of Malakangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajpati and Ganjam on October 28, and Malakangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Rayagada on October 29 with wind speed of 60 to 70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph.
These districts along with Kandhamal are likely to bear the brunt.
According to Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) of SOA Deemed to be University here, the cyclone may cross the coast south of Visakhapatnam between 11 pm and 1 am with wind speed of 75-85 km/h. The system, which was moving at a speed of 12 km per hour, will also pass through Odisha’s Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts where the wind speed will be between 40-50 km per hour.
Under its influence, heavy to very heavy rainfall may occur in the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Rayagada on Tuesday night and on Wednesday, the bulletin said.
Heavy precipitation may also occur in the districts of Balangir, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Deogarh. The coastal districts may experience light to moderate spells of rain during the period, it added.
