Cyclone Montha to hit Andhra Pradesh on Oct 28: IMD

Cyclone Montha, which is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Monday, is expected to make landfall on the coast of Andhra Pradesh in the evening or night of October 28, with wind speeds touching 90-100 km/hour. As the cyclone nears, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heavy rain alert for states like Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry for the next few days.

The weather system strengthened into a deep depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal over the past six hours. It is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Monday morning (October 27) and a severe cyclonic storm by October 28 (Tuesday).

Cyclone Montha is expected to make landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast near Kakinada, between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, on Tuesday evening or night, with wind speeds of 90-100 km/hour gusting to 110 km/hour.

All NDRF and SDRF teams have been kept on standby and additional teams are ready for deployment during critical situations. The IMD has asked fishermen not to venture into the sea from October 26-29 along and off the coast of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry (Yanam) and Odisha.

As of 5.30 am today, the weather system is situated about 610 km west of Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), 790 km east-southeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu), 850 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 840 km southeast of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) and 950 km south-southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha).

According to the IMD, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over:

. Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Mahe: October 27–28

. Coastal Karnataka: October 26–28

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Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam: October 26–30

. Telangana and Odisha: October 27–30

. Chhattisgarh: October 27–30

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alerted all district collectors, superintendents of police, and other senior officials about the cyclone and held a teleconference with them. Noting that the cyclone's sphere of influence could stretch from Srikakulam to Tirupati, Naidu said heavy rains of up to 100 mm could lash the state, accompanied by gales gusting up to 110 kmph.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alerted all district collectors, superintendents of police, and other senior officials about the cyclone and held a teleconference with them. Noting that the cyclone's sphere of influence could stretch from Srikakulam to Tirupati, Naidu said heavy rains of up to 100 mm could lash the state, accompanied by gales gusting up to 110 kmph.

Naidu directed officials to begin preparations to avert loss of life and property. He instructed them to alert coastal residents to evacuate to safer locations and to declare holidays for educational institutions if necessary.

Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Minister N Manohar said the action plan covers stock positioning of Public Distribution System (PDS) commodities, fuel inventory management, paddy procurement steps, food supply to relief shelters and post-cyclone relief distribution.

On fuel preparedness, Manohar instructed the state nodal officer and oil marketing companies to fully stock petrol, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) outlets in vulnerable districts. The IMD has forecast rain in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from October 26 to 29.