Cyclone Moves Toward South Chhattisgarh
Amaravati: The storm that was earlier known as Cyclone “Montha” has now weakened into a deep depression after moving inland. It is currently located over north Andhra Pradesh and nearby parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana.
The system is moving slowly toward south Chhattisgarh and is expected to weaken further into a normal depression within the next few hours. People in these areas may experience heavy rain, strong winds, and occasional thunderstorms.
At the same time, another depression (a weaker weather system) is lying over the east-central Arabian Sea, about 400 km southwest of Mumbai.
The Cyclonic Storm “Montha”, which brought heavy rains and strong winds to parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh, has now weakened into a Deep Depression, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
As of 8:30 a.m. on October 29, the system was centered over coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Telangana, near latitude 17.3°N and longitude 81.2°E—about 50 km south-southeast of Bhadrachalam, 110 km east of Khammam, 130 km south-southwest of Malkangiri (Odisha), and 220 km south-southwest of Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh).
The IMD said the system is likely to move north-northwestwards across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and south Chhattisgarh, and is expected to weaken further into a depression within the next six hours.
Meanwhile, a separate depression over the east-central Arabian Sea remained nearly stationary during the past three hours. At 8:30 a.m. today, it was centered near latitude 17.9°N and longitude 69.2°E, approximately 410 km west-southwest of Mumbai, 430 km southwest of Veraval (Gujarat), 560 km west-northwest of Panjim (Goa), 820 km northwest of Mangalore (Karnataka), and 850 km north-northwest of Aminidivi (Lakshadweep).
The IMD forecast indicates that this system is likely to move northeastwards across the east-central Arabian Sea over the next 36 hours.
Cyclone Montha, which developed into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal and battered Andhra Pradesh, made landfall around midnight on Tuesday. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the storm crossed the coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Narasapuram, south of Kakinada.
The IMD said the landfall process was completed between 11:30 pm and 12:30 am. Even after crossing the coast, Montha maintained its intensity as a severe cyclonic storm while moving inland at a speed of 12 km per hour. The system is expected to move north-northwestwards over Telangana and weaken into a cyclonic storm near Chhattisgarh by Wednesday afternoon.
Strong winds continued to lash several regions, with speeds ranging from 85 to 95 km per hour. Under the cyclone’s influence, heavy rains were recorded across coastal Andhra Pradesh, with Kavali in Nellore district receiving the highest rainfall of 23 cm, followed by 17 cm in Ulavapadu and 15 cm in Chirala over the past 12 hours.
A red alert has been issued for all districts in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The IMD warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka over the next 24 hours due to the system’s impact.
In a post on X, the weather department said, "The latest observations indicate that the severe cyclonic storm '#Montha' crossed the Andhra Pradesh & Yanan coasts between #Machilipatnam and #Kalingapatnam, to the south of #Kakinada."
According to the latest observation update issued by the IMD at 12:30 am, the severe storm will weaken into a cyclonic storm over the next six hours. The landfall process commenced as the storm crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Tuesday that 11,396 people have been evacuated, and 30 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRF) and five teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed as part of measures for the Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) 'Montha'.
After chairing a high-level meeting to assess the state's preparedness for Montha, CM Majhi said that the eight districts of South Odisha — Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, and Nabarangpur — are "likely to be the most affected," adding that the state government is "fully prepared to deal with this situation."
The Chief Minister said that the state government is committed to a "zero casualty" policy. "As always, our goal is zero casualties. To evacuate people, we have prepared 2,040 cyclone and flood-affected sites," CM Majhi said.
"So far, we have evacuated 11,396 people. We are monitoring the situation and are preparing to evacuate more than 30,000 people... We have deployed a total of 30 ODRF, 123 fire brigades, and five NDRF teams. We have also kept more teams on alert," CM Majhi added.
In the wake of Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) Montha, over 35 flights between Shamshabad in Telangana and Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Rajahmundry airports in Andhra Pradesh have been cancelled, GMR Airports said.
A total of 30 IndiGo, two Air India, and five Air India Express flights have been cancelled as the SCS Montha approaches the Andhra Pradesh coast around Kakinada.
Cyclones are caused by atmospheric disturbances around a low-pressure area distinguished by swift and often destructive air circulation. Cyclones are usually accompanied by violent storms and bad weather. The air circulates inward in an anticlockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
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