Cyclone Montha mapped: 50,000 evacuated as severe cyclonic storm nears landfall in India

The eastern state of Odisha and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh are expected to be in the direct line of the cyclone’s movement as Montha intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal on Monday, the weather department said.

Montha is expected to make landfall between the cities of Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near the city of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, during the evening or night of 28 October as a severe cyclonic storm, weather officials said. The storm is likely to bring maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100kmph gusting to 110kmph.

At least 50,000 people have been evacuated to relief camps in India’s eastern region as the cyclone picked up pace over the Bay of Bengal.

India’s east coast is prone to cyclones during the months of April and December with several small and major storms lashing the region. India faced its deadliest natural disaster in October 1999 when a super cyclone killed around 10,000 people in Odisha.

Officials have cancelled holidays for emergency staff and also ordered shutdown of schools and colleges in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh.

The state government has deployed disaster teams to move out families and households from low-lying areas in Andhra Pradesh. At least 3.9 million are expected to be affected by the cyclone in the state.

“Evacuation of people from near the coast in Kakinada district has already started,” a disaster management official in Andhra Pradesh said.

In the port city of Visakhapatnam, the city police commissionerate has deployed security personnel and swimmers at at least four beaches as part of security measures. Andhra Pradesh has set up 1,906 relief camps and 364 school shelters to accommodate people being evacuated from 1,238 villages, the Hindustan Times reported. The East Coast Railway, serving major parts of Odisha, northern Andhra Pradesh and four districts of Chhattisgarh state, also cancelled several trains.

Odisha government is bracing to save all humans and animals with a goal of “zero casualty”, Odisha revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said. Fishermen in the state have also been asked to avoid venturing to the sea for the next few days.

In the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, officials have asked people to stay alert and follow forecasts for heavy to very heavy rains in some districts.

An orange alert, the second highest warning level, has been issued for Rayalseema region of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry for heavy rains with an additional warning for strong winds in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Several other states in India’s central and western parts will also face rains and are on yellow alert. These include Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan and Goa.