Cyclone 'Montha': Andhra braces for landfall between Machilipatnam and Kakinada

Amaravati: The severe cyclonic storm 'Montha' over the west-central Bay of Bengal is currently about 100 km off Machilipatnam and 180 km off Kakinada, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.

'Montha' means a fragrant flower in the Thai language.

The weather system moved north-northwestwards at a speed of 10 kmph during the past hour and lay centred at 1.30 pm over the same region, the IMD said in a release.

"The severe cyclonic storm 'Montha' over west-central Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 10 kmph during the past one hour and lay centred at 1.30 pm today over the same region," the department said.

From the port city of Visakhapatnam, the cyclone was positioned about 270 km away in the sea, with wind speeds gusting up to 110 kmph.

According to the IMD, 'Montha' is likely to continue moving north-northwestwards and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, during the evening and night of Tuesday as a severe cyclonic storm.

It is expected to bring maximum sustained wind speeds of 90–100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.

Meanwhile, a woman died in Makanagudem village of Konaseema district after a tree was uprooted in strong gales and fell on her, a police official told PTI.

Under the influence of the cyclone, Machilipatnam recorded 5.2 mm of rainfall since 8:30 am, followed by Narasapur (9.8 mm), Tuni (15.6 mm), Kakinada (5.7 mm) and Visakhapatnam (0.2 mm).

Continuous rain has also been lashing Nellore district for the past 36 hours, with an average of five cm recorded in the last 24 hours and some pockets receiving up to seven cm, an official told PTI Videos.

"Heavy rainfall is expected to continue for the next 12 hours, and monitoring teams are on alert across vulnerable urban and rural areas," the official added.

"Nineteen relief camps are operational and over seven hundred people are staying there," Nellore District Collector Himanshu Shukla told PTI Videos. He said there was "no major concern" from rivers or irrigation tanks at present, and the situation was being assessed regularly by field teams.

"The power supply remains stable across the district with no reported disruptions so far. Control rooms are functioning round the clock to address emergencies," the collector added.

Authorities have advised residents in vulnerable coastal areas to remain indoors and follow official safety instructions until conditions improve.

In view of the severe cyclonic storm, the Indian Railways cancelled, diverted and rescheduled multiple passenger trains across the Waltair Division of the East Coast Railway Zone in the interest of passenger safety.