Andhra on alert as Cyclone Montha nears: Over 60 trains cancelled, flights disrupted

Cyclone Montha

Cyclonic storm 'Montha' over the westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north to northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during the past six hours and intensified into a severe cyclonic storm by 5.30 am on Tuesday, said the Meteorological Department.

News agency PTI reported that the weather system lay centred 190 km south to southeast of Machilipatnam, 270 km south to southeast of Kakinada and 340 km south to southeast of Vizag at 5.30 am.

"The cyclonic storm Montha over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during the past six hours (and) intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and lay centred at 5.30 am about 190 km south to south east of Machilipatnam," said the Met Department in an official release.

It is likely to continue to move 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 with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph and gusting to 110 kmph.

Heavy rain alert issued in these states

Andhra Pradesh has been put on alert, while Odisha, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu are also bracing for strong winds and rainfall. According to a report by News18, the weather agency has predicted isolated extremely heavy rainfall over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry, and Chhattisgarh.

The Odisha government has started evacuating residents from coastal areas to safer locations. A total of 128 rescue teams have been deployed across eight districts — Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi, and Kandhamal.

IMD issues orange alert for coastal Karnataka

The IMD has issued an orange alert for Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi districts, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain with winds up to 40 kmph. Heavy rain or thundershowers are likely in Bagalkot, Koppal, Raichur, Belagavi, Gadag, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Kodagu, and Mysuru districts, while several other regions, including Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Hassan, and Tumakuru, may experience light to moderate rainfall.

Several train services cancelled

East Coast and South Central Railways have cancelled several train services from October 27 to 30 due to Cyclone Montha, including major routes like Visakhapatnam–Kirandul, Visakhapatnam–Koraput, Visakhapatnam–Tirupati, and Visakhapatnam–Chennai. This was a safety measure taken as the storm approached the coast, affecting train services across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha.

Flights hit

Several IndiGo and Air India Express flights have been cancelled, while a Delhi–Visakhapatnam IndiGo flight was diverted to Bhubaneswar earlier on Monday due to adverse weather. The Vijayawada Airport has also suspended multiple flight operations scheduled for Tuesday.

Andhra Pradesh on alert

In view of the storm, all district administrations and municipal bodies have been instructed to keep control rooms operational round the clock and to issue alerts through RTGS, the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) and local networks.

Officials were quoted by News18 as saying that vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, have been moved to safer locations. Relief centres have been set up across affected districts, with food, milk, and water stocked for several days. Over 14,000 schools have been declared closed as a precaution.

A red alert has been issued for Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam, and Nellore districts. To aid rescue and relief efforts, eleven NDRF teams and twelve SDRF teams have been deployed.