Bhubaneswar: Cyclone Montha has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal and is expected to make landfall near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, about 200 km from Odisha’s Malkangiri, later this evening, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed on Tuesday.
The system has been moving north-northwestwards at a speed of around 15 kmph over the past six hours, prompting both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha governments to heighten preparedness and initiate precautionary measures.
At 5.30 am, the post-monsoon storm was approximately 190 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam, 270 km south-southeast of Kakinada, 340 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam (all in Andhra Pradesh), and 550 km south-southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha.
Montha is likely to bring sustained winds blowing at 90 to 100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph, and trigger heavy rainfall in Odisha coast for two days. The cyclone would impact 15 districts, eight of which are under the red zone and may experience extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds.
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. An alert has also been sounded across the Odisha coast from Ganjam to Balasore, with authorities urging fishermen not to venture into the sea till October 30.
Odisha has activated its disaster management protocols. As many as 140 teams from NDRF, ODRAF and fire services personnel have been deployed, while schools and anganwadi centres have been shut in eight red zone districts of Malakangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal till October 30.
Authorities are closely monitoring Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri districts for possible landslides. Around 3,000 people, including 1,496 pregnant women, have already been evacuated from low-lying and hilly regions across these districts.
A total of 32,528 people will be moved to safety to minimise damage and ensure zero casualties. “We have opened 1,445 cyclone shelters and arranged food, medicine, lighting and care for domestic animals,” Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said after reviewing the situation last evening.
He also urged people not to panic over the impending cyclonic storm, assuring that all necessary preparations to tackle its possible impact have been completed.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea till October 29, and ports have been asked to hoist warning signals.
