Cyclone Montha Tracker LIVE Updates: The landfall of Cyclone Montha, which is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm, has begun, Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) Managing Director Prakhar Jain said on Monday. Coastal districts are experiencing rain and strong gales, he added. According to him, the weather system moved at a speed of 18 km per hour in the past six hours.
PM Modi speaks to Andhra CM, officials directed to take precautionary measures: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday directed officials to take precautionary measures in places where there is scope for rains and floods in light of cyclone Montha, which is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to CM Naidu over the phone and enquired about the cyclone, following which IT Minister Nara Lokesh has been asked to coordinate with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
IMD issues ‘red alert’: The IMD has issued a red alert for Monday for the Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam, and SPSR Nellore districts along the coast of Andhra Pradesh. Heavy rain is expected to lash the adjacent districts of Thiruvallur in north Tamil Nadu, as well as the southern districts of Odisha, including Malkangiri, Koraput, Kalahandi, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Balangir, Kandhamal, and Ganjam, for which an orange alert has been issued for Monday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured central assistance to the state to deal with cyclone 'Montha', which is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday morning.
The Chief Minister said that PM Modi called him earlier in the day to enquire about the intensity of the cyclone and the precautionary measures being taken.--PTI
The landfall of Cyclone Montha, which is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm, has begun, Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) Managing Director Prakhar Jain said on Monday.
Coastal districts are experiencing rain and strong gales, he added.
"Cyclone has begun. Coastal districts are witnessing rainfall accompanied by gales," Jain said in a release, adding that the system will intensify further as it approaches land.
According to him, the weather system moved at a speed of 18 km per hour in the past six hours.--PTI
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday directed officials to take precautionary measures in places where there is scope for rains and floods in light of cyclone Montha, which is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to CM Naidu over the phone and enquired about the cyclone, following which IT Minister Nara Lokesh has been asked to coordinate with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
The CM held a review meeting with officials over the cyclone at Real Time Governance System (RTGS).
"The CM ordered advance action in places where rains and floods are likely. He told officials to strengthen the banks of canals to prevent crop loss," an official release said.
Naidu instructed officials to monitor the movement of the cyclone on an hourly basis.--PTI
A cyclone warning signal installed as a precautionary measure against Cyclone 'Montha', in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu. (PTI Photo)
As per the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), heavy to very heavy rains will occur in seven districts -- Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam, and Nellore districts on Monday.
Cyclone Montha is likely to bring heavy rain in several districts across West Bengal from Tuesday to Friday, the IMD said.
The weather system, situated over the Bay of Bengal, is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and make landfall near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday night, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a special bulletin.
The Met advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off the West Bengal coast till Thursday.
It warned of the possibility of landslides in the hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and waterlogging in low-lying areas in the plains.
While light to moderate rain is expected over many places in south Bengal, heavy rain is likely to occur over North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Purulia, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum and Murshidabad districts between Tuesday and Friday, it said.
Severe cyclonic storm Montha, which has intensified over the southwest-central Bay of Bengal, is moving at a speed of 18 kmph, and is currently centred 520 km from Chennai, 570 km from Kakinada, and 600 km from Visakhapatnam, the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) has said.
On Monday morning, Kakinada and other coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh witnessed rainfall ahead of the cyclone’s arrival.
Moving west-northwestwards, Cyclone Montha is likely to further intensify by Tuesday morning and cross the coast of Andhra Pradesh near Kakinada by Tuesday night with strong winds of 90-110 kmph.
The state government has deployed nine State Disaster Response Force and seven National Disaster Response Force teams in several districts for potential relief operations. Pregnant women and senior citizens living in coastal villages have been moved to camps inland on priority.
In 2000, a group of nations called WMO/ESCAP (World Meteorological Organisation/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific), which comprised Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand, decided to start naming cyclones in the region on a rotational basis. After each country sent in suggestions, the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) finalised the list.
The WMO/ESCAP expanded to include five more countries in 2018 — Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The list of 169 cyclone names released by IMD in April 2020 were provided by these countries — 13 suggestions from each of the 13 countries.
Apart from helping the general public, naming cyclones helps the scientific community, the media, disaster managers etc. With a name, it is easy to identify individual cyclones, create awareness of its development, rapidly disseminate warnings to increase community preparedness. There are some conventions too, in that the name should be neutral to politics and political figures, religious beliefs, and cultures.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall and strong surface winds are expected in Chennai and three other districts on Monday, while cyclonic storm Montha is expected to lay centred at around 2.30 pm at about 600 km east-southeast of Chennai, weather officials said.
B Amudha, Director, Regional Meteorological Centre, said apart from Chennai, heavy to very heavy rainfall is also expected in Ranipet, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram and heavy rainfall is expected in Villupuram and Chengalpattu.
Puducherry will also receive heavy rainfall, Amudha said.
As for Cyclone Montha, it is likely to continue to move west-northwestwards over the southwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal during the next 12 hours, she added.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said hat Cyclone Montha has been moving northwestwards over the Bay of Bengal at a speed of 15 kmph in the past six hours on Monday, positioning itself over the southwest and adjoining southeast parts of the sea by 5:30 am IST.
The Odisha government has started evacuating people from vulnerable places and deployed 128 disaster response teams in eight southern districts of the state as the deep depression in the Bay of Bengal on Monday intensified into a cyclonic storm named 'Montha'.
Keeping in view the formation of cyclone 'Montha', 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.
The minister said that 'red warning' (take action), predicting extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds (gusting up to 80 kmph), was issued for Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts. PTI
Heavy rainfall is expected over Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts in the next 24 hours as the depression formed in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression on Sunday and moving at a speed of 10 km per hour, the Regional Meteorological Centre said.
It is likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a ‘cyclonic storm’ over the southwest and adjoining west central Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours, a bulletin by the Centre said.
The system is further expected to intensify into a ‘severe’ cyclonic storm by October 28 and very likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada on October 28, it said.
“The depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal moved nearly west-north westwards with a speed of 10 km per hour, intensified into a Deep Depression today, October 26, and lay centered about 610 km west of Port Blair, 790 km east-south east of Chennai, 850 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 840 km south east of Kakinada and 950 km south east of Gopalpur (Odisha)” the bulletin said. (PTI)
Heavy rain, squally weather, and rough sea conditions are expected to prevail along India’s east coast between Odisha and Tamil Nadu for the next two days owing to the approaching cyclone, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
Once intensified, the storm will be called Cyclone Montha, and it will be the first cyclone likely to make landfall over the Indian landmass this year. Earlier this month, Cyclone Shakti developed off the Gujarat coast in the Arabian Sea, but it moved away from the Indian coast.
Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Mahe, and coastal Karnataka will experience very heavy rain (115 – 210 mm in 24 hours) till Tuesday. Heavy rain is forecast over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and south Odisha till October 30.
According to the latest satellite imagery and other weather updates on Saturday, the deep depression was present over the Southeast Bay of Bengal. The IMD said on Saturday that the system was located at about 620 km west of Port Blair, 780 km east-southeast of Chennai, 830 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 830 km southeast of Kakinada, and 930 km south-southeast of Gopalpur.
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