Cyclone 'Montha' set to hit Andhra coast tomorrow, Odisha begins evacuation

A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has intensified into Cyclone Montha, triggering massive preparedness measures across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the storm over the southwest and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal moved northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph in the past six hours and was centred at 5:30 am on October 27 near latitude 12.2°N and longitude 85.3°E - about 560 km east-southeast of Chennai, 620 km south-southeast of Kakinada, 650 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 790 km south of Gopalpur, and 810 km west of Port Blair.

According to the IMD, the system is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by the morning of October 28 and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, during the evening or night of October 28, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 90-100 kmph gusting up to 110 kmph.

Meanwhile, a separate depression over the east-central Arabian Sea is moving north-northeastwards at around 20 kmph and is expected to travel across the same region over the next 24 hours.

- Ends