Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, and adjoining south Odisha coasts, as Cyclonic Storm Montha continues to intensify over the Bay of Bengal (BoB).
According to the IMD’s National Bulletin No. 30, issued at 1430 hrs IST on October 27, Cyclone Montha is currently positioned over the westcentral and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal, near latitude 13.0°N and longitude 84.2°E. The system has been moving north-northwestwards at a speed of 17 kmph over the past six hours.
At the time of the latest observation, the storm lay about 440 km east of Chennai (Tamil Nadu), 490 km south-southeast of Kakinada, 530 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), and 710 km south-southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha).
The IMD has predicted that Montha will intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by the morning of October 28. Continuing its north-northwestward movement, it is very likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, during the evening or night of October 28, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 90–100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph.
The storm is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rainfall along parts of the Andhra and south Odisha coasts, accompanied by strong winds and rough sea conditions. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea, and coastal administrations have been put on high alert.
