Cyclone Montha weather update: IMD issues red alert in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, rainfall likely in parts of Maharashtra

Cyclone Montha made landfall as a "severe cyclonic storm" on Tuesday night. It crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, to the south of Kakinada, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said early Wednesday.

The landfall process started around 7 pm. Hours later, after making landfall, the "severe cyclonic storm" Montha weakened into a cyclonic storm over coastal Andhra Pradesh.

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

Cyclone Montha is likely to trigger heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on Wednesday in parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Telangana, South Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.

Cyclone Montha weather forecast:

Odisha: The IMD issued a red alert for Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapathi and Ganjam. The rest of the districts are on yellow alert.

Telangana: 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.

Andhra Pradesh: 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.

IMD issued an orange alert for Kurnool, Anantaouramu, Srisathyasai, Annnamayya, Chittoor and YSR Kadapa.

Maharashtra, Gujarat: 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.

An orange alert for very heavy rainfall was issued for Vidarbha, Saurashtra and Kutch.

35 flights cancelled

In the wake of Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) Montha, GMR airports said that over 35 flights between Telangana and the airports in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Rajahmundry have been cancelled, as per ANI.

As Cyclone Month approached the Andhra Pradesh coast around Kakinada, at least 30 IndiGo, two Air India and five Air India Express flights were cancelled.

Eight Odisha districts ‘likely to be the most affected’

Normal life was affected in 15 Odisha districts.

After chairing a high-level meeting to assess the State's preparedness for Montha, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that the eight districts of South Odisha are “likely to be the most affected.”

They include Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, and Nabarangpur.

Majhi added that the state government is "fully prepared to deal with this situation".

He said on Tuesday that 11,396 people had been evacuated, and 30 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRF) and five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been deployed as part of measures for Cyclone Montha.

Cyclone Montha destroys crops in 1.76 lakh hectares across Andhra

Standing crops spread over 38,000 hectares and horticulture crops in 1.38 lakh hectares were destroyed in Andhra Pradesh due to the impact of Cyclone Montha, the Chief Minister's Office said on Tuesday.

"Due to the impact of the cyclone, heavy rains across the state destroyed standing crops in 38,000 hectares and horticulture crops in 1.38 lakh hectares," said a press release from the chief minister's office, citing preliminary estimates.

The cyclone is likely to impact 403 mandals across 22 districts of Andhra Pradesh.

(With inputs from agencies)