East coast braces for rough weather as Cyclone Montha develops today

Montha will likely be the first cyclone to make landfall over the Indian landmass this year. This month, Cyclone Shakthi had developed off Gujarat in the Arabian Sea but moved away from the coast. The IMD warned of extremely heavy rain (more than 210 mm in 24 hours) over Andhra’s Rayalaseema region on Monday and Tuesday.

It also issued the same warning for Odisha’s southern districts of Malakangiri, Koraput, Rayagarh, Gajpati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Northern Tamil Nadu, Kerala and coastal Karnataka are likely to experience very heavy rain (115-210 mm in 24 hours) till Tuesday. Heavy rain has also been forecast over Yanam, Telangana and Chhattisgarh till October 30.

As of Saturday, the system was about 620 km west of Port Blair, the IMD said. “The system was likely to move nearly west-northwestwards, intensify further into a cyclonic storm over southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal sometime on Monday,” it said.

The department has issued a red alert for Monday across Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam and Nellore districts along coastal Andhra Pradesh. By late Tuesday, as it comes close to the Andhra coast, the maximum sustained wind speeds are likely to range between 90 and 100 km/hr, gusting to 110 km/hr.

The Met department has issued a red alert for Tuesday for Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam, Vizianagaram,Alluri Aitharama Raju, Anakpalli, Vishakapatanam, Kakinada, East Godavari, Eluru, Konaseema, NTR, Guntur, Krishna and Bapatla districts.

Thousands of people in low-lying areas in coastal Andhra have been moved to temporary relief camps.

Andhra Home and Disaster Management Minister Vangalapudi Anitha held a meeting at the Disaster Management Authority office in Tadepalli of all department officials on Sunday to take stock of the situation. Anitha told The Indian Express that satellite phones have been sent to districts where the communication system may be affected or damaged.

“Our priority is to ensure that no untoward incident occurs, no one dies. People in the affected districts have been sent alerts on mobile phones and by announcements that unless it is an emergency, they should not come out of their homes till the cyclone passes. If they feel their house is dangerous, go to a safe place which is the nearest relief camp,’’ she said.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been deployed. The state declared holidays for educational institutions till Wednesday, removed dangerous hoardings in cities, suspended fishing and related activities, and closed beaches to visitors. Anita said the precautionary measures are based on experiences from past cyclones such as Hudhud.

In Odisha, along with the eight districts mentioned above, some coastal districts have also been asked to stay alert. Revenue and Disaster management minister Suresh Pujari on Sunday chaired a meeting to review the preparedness. “The government and the administrations from state till the block are in readiness to tackle the situation. Every life is precious for us,” said Pujari after the meeting.

The administrations of the eight districts are on alert and leaves of government employees there have been cancelled. The local administrations have been asked to keep the cyclone and flood relief centres in readiness to evacuate people, which will start from Monday.Teams of NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire service teams have been deployed in districts likely to be affected.