Cyclone Montha LIVE: IMD predicts heavy rainfall in Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh till Oct 31

The Andhra Pradesh government has evacuated nearly 76,000 people to safety as part of large-scale relief operations following the impact of Cyclone Montha.

Officials said that 219 medical camps have been set up to provide emergency healthcare, while 865 tonnes of animal fodder have been distributed to support livestock in affected areas.

To speed up restoration work, the state has deployed 1,447 earthmovers, 321 drones, and 1,040 chainsaws to clear debris and remove fallen trees across cyclone-hit regions.

As Cyclone Montha’s eye moved inland, thousands of people sought refuge in relief shelters, waiting for the storm to subside.

According to officials, more than 10,000 residents, mostly fishing families, were evacuated from 65 villages across 12 coastal mandals in Andhra Pradesh ahead of the cyclone’s landfall.

Montha means a fragrant flower in the Thai language.

Visuals show aftermath of Cyclone Montha in Kakinada.

Severe Cyclonic storm Montha made landfall off the coast of Andhra Pradesh, causing disruptions in the southern state, while the impact was also felt in neighbouring Odisha, where normal life was affected in 15 districts.

The landfall process started around 7 pm on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, adding that the weather system in the Bay of Bengal will cross Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada.

The IMD predicted "heavy rain, thunderstorm and Lightning, Squall, etc" in the Gujarat Region, Saurashtra and Kutch region, Konkan & Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha region.

A woman was killed in Makanapalem village of Mamidikuduru mandal, Andhra Pradesh, after a tree collapsed onto her house as Cyclone Montha brought heavy rain and strong winds to the region.

The IMD issued a red alert for Mulugu, Khammam and B Kothagudem. It also issued an orange alert for heavy rainfall in other districts such as Nalgonda, Mancherial, Peddapalle, Hanamkonda and Suryapet.

In the aftermath of Cyclone Montha, heaps of debris and plastic waste were washed ashore along the Mangaluru beach, leaving the coastline littered and buried under tons of garbage.

Heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Montha caused landslides and major disruptions in Gajapati district on Tuesday, affecting several parts of southern Odisha.

All educational institutions in Guntur district will remain closed today as a precautionary measure due to Cyclone Montha.

High waves battered the Mangaluru coast on Tuesday as Cyclone Montha moved along the eastern coastline, bringing turbulent sea conditions and strong winds.

Several people were seen gathering along the shore to watch the rough seas, despite warnings from authorities to avoid coastal areas for safety reasons.

Schools in NTR and Bapatla districts of Andhra Pradesh will remain closed today due to heavy rain and strong winds triggered by Cyclone Montha.

All schools, colleges, and anganwadi centres in Gajapati district will remain closed until October 30, following the impact of Cyclone Montha. The order was issued by District Collector Madhumita, citing safety concerns and adverse weather conditions in the region.

Schools across several districts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh remained closed due to Cyclone Montha and will continue to stay shut on October 29 as a precautionary measure.

Most parts of Andhra Pradesh are on red and orange alert. Extremely heavy rainfall is expected in Prakasam, Nellore, Elluru, Tirupathi, East Godavari, Guntur and Krishna.

Police clear fallen trees, restore traffic after strong winds hit Andhra’s Vetapalem region.

In Odisha, Montha brought heavy rain in coastal and southern districts, causing landslides and damaging houses besides uprooting trees.

A vehicle was left stuck under a fallen tree in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday after heavy rainfall and strong winds lashed the city under the influence of Cyclone Montha.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi visited the control room at the Special Relief Commissioner's office to review the situation ahead of the landfall of Cyclone Montha.

Majhi reiterated the state government's preparedness in view of Cyclone Montha, saying that Odisha is not under threat yet and that people have been relocated to safe locations as a precautionary measure.

"We reviewed the graphical images of IMD in the control room regarding the ground situation of Cyclone Month..Odisha is not at much risk. All our teams are prepared for any situation. People have been shifted to safe places, and all arrangements have been made at the shelters," he said.

The Chief Minister said that pregnant women, sick people, and the elderly are being cared for. Schools and Anganwadis have been closed, and the authorities are keeping a strict vigilance for the next 24 hours.

"Care is being taken for the elderly, seriously ill patients, and pregnant women. Complete arrangements have been made for food, water, and other essential items for the people. Schools and Anganwadis have been closed. In some places where trees fell, the roads were immediately cleared. We have instructed all collectors and officials to maintain strict vigilance for 24 hours," he stated.

Strong winds in Gopalpur Beach of Ganjam district after the landfall of cyclone Montha.

Around 2 am on Wednesday, the IMD 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.”

Severe Cyclonic Storm “Montha” weakened into a Cyclonic Storm over coastal Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.

The IMD said, “It is likely to move nearly northwestwards across coastal Andhra Pradesh and maintain its intensity of cyclonic storm during next 6 hours, and weaken further into a deep depression during subsequent 6 hours.”

Severe cyclonic storm Montha triggered heavy rainfall across Andhra Pradesh, with Nellore district recording the highest downpour.

The cyclone has caused extensive agricultural damage, destroying standing crops over 38,000 hectares and impacting horticulture cultivation across 1.38 lakh hectares, officials said.

Severe Cyclonic Storm Montha made landfall off the Andhra Pradesh coast on Tuesday evening, disrupting daily life across the state and extending its impact into neighbouring Odisha.

Indian Railways cancelled, diverted and rescheduled several trains across East Coast Railway’s Waltair Division.

The South Central Railway Zone cancelled a total of 120 trains on Monday and Tuesday.

Air travel was severely impacted. Visakhapatnam Airport cancelled all 32 scheduled flights on Tuesday, while Vijayawada Airport cancelled 16 and managed to operate five.

The IMD has forecast light to moderate rainfall at most places in Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, along with isolated heavy to very heavy showers till October 29.

Extremely heavy rainfall of more than 20 cm is likely at a few locations during the same period.

For October 30, the outlook includes heavy rain over parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

On severe cyclonic storm 'Montha', Gajapati DM Madhumita has informed that landslides have been reported at several places due to the continuus rains in the district. “We cleared those areas this morning... To achieve our goal of zero casualties, 10,000 people have been relocated from sensitive areas... Pregnant women are also being taken care of. Our staff is actively working on the ground,” she said.

On Severe cyclonic storm 'Montha', Divisional Railway Manager at Waltair Division of East Coast Railway, Lalit Bohra said, “We have taken various measures which include opening a help desk at nine prominent stations, equipped with information about all trains which are running, cancelled, rescheduled, or diverted... So far, we have cancelled 23 trains...”

"We have opened additional refund counters, which have been provided with sufficient cash... To ensure faster restorations, we have kept excavators ready on wagons... We have kept 17 diesel power units that can run even when overhead power is unavailable. All of them are completely fueled. All our overhead water tanks are fully watered... We have hired a large number of generator sets to ensure uninterrupted electricity. We have taken measures to ensure that all our tree-cutting machines are ready... We have arranged a few satellite phones in case of a communication failure... Catering has been arranged at all the stations, and all have been directed to ensure there is no shortage of catering materials, including water bottles... Our war room has been operational for the last three days..."

Severe cyclonic storm Montha is likely to maintain the intensity for a period of six hours after its landfall over interior Andhra Pradesh and the adjoining areas including south Odisha, the IMD said on Tuesday.

The Met Department forecast very likely light to moderate rainfall at most places in Andhra Pradesh and Yanam and heavy to very rainfall at a few places till October 29.

"The severe cyclonic storm Montha is likely to maintain the intensity of a cyclonic storm for a period of six hours after the landfall over interior Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas of south Odisha, south Chhattisgarh and Telangana," a Met Department press release said.

The landfall process of Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) Montha began around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi has informed that as many as 11,300 people have been evacuated and the government was gearing up to evacuate a total of 30,000 people.

CM Majhi said, "The eight districts of South Odisha - Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, and Nabarangpur - are likely to be the most affected. The state government is fully prepared to deal with this situation. As always, our goal is zero casualties. To evacuate people, we have prepared 2,040 cyclone and flood-affected sites. 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..."

Six persons were injured when a Jagaddhatri Puja pandal collapsed during a gale at Chandannagar in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Tuesday afternoon, as thunderstorms accompanied by moderate rain lashed the region under the influence of severe cyclonic storm Montha, officials said. (PTI)

A woman died at Makanagudem village in Konaseema district as an uprooted palmyra tree fell on her due to gales, a police official told PTI.

Increasingly warmer oceans are resulting in intensifying storms, especially near coastal regions, as they derive energy from the warm waters, climate experts say. (AP)

“Global warming is increasing the air temperature and is also making oceans warm. And if an ocean is very warm, it is going to supply a lot of energy to any tropical storm over the ocean,” a meteorologist the AP spoke to said.

Andhra minister Nara Lokesh told news agency AFP that Cyclone Montha may affect close to four million (40 lakh) people.

The IMD, in an X post has said that Cyclone Montha's wind speed will be 90–100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph

Odisha CM Mohan Manjhi has directed officials to ensure zero casualties as Cyclone Montha is set to strike the state late on Tuesday. Cyclone Montha has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal as rain lashed Odisha's coastal region.

Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas - these are the districts in West Bengal that can expect heavy rainfall.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall lashed parts of southern and eastern Rajasthan, with Nainwa in Bundi district recording the highest at 130 mm in the last 24 hours till Tuesday morning, officials said.

Udaipur, Kota and nearby districts are expected to receive more heavy rainfall today. Light to moderate rain with thunderstorms is also expected in parts of Ajmer, Jaipur, Bharatpur and Jodhpur divisions, they said. (PTI)

Vaishnaw has directed all officials of East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South-Central Railway (SCR) zones to remain on high alert and to take proactive steps for the quick restoration of train services following the impact of severe cyclonic storm Montha', which is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada. (ANI)

Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem, and Mahabubabad districts of Telangana are on IMD's red alert for heavy rains.

Several districts of Tamil Nadu are on IMD's orange alert today, including Chengalpattu, Chennai, Kanchipuram, Ranipet, Thiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) takes charge of relief, evacuation, restoration and rescue operation as Cyclone Montha intensifies. According to NDRF statement, a total of 25 teams across the likely affected coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Puducherry have been pre-deployed to minimise catastrophic impact. Notably, each team is equipped with boats, cutting equipment, communication eqpt and other specialised rescue tools.

Kakinada MP T Uday Srinivas on Tuesday said, “As of now the cyclone is expected to hit the southern region. We have taken all precautionary measures. The entire stretch has been alerted,” PTI reported.

He further noted that evacuation efforts are in full swing. “Nearly 600 camps are established and we have ensured that all medical, food facilities are provided. Pregnant women are evacuated to government hospitals,” he added.

Former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik in a video message on Tuesday urged people to stay safe and alert during Cyclone Montha. He advised the public to follow government guidelines and cooperate with rescue and relief teams.