Cyclone Montha: All 30 Odisha districts on alert; south Bengal braces for rain too

The Odisha government has put all 30 districts on alert as the depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression and is slowly moving towards the east coast.

“At 8.30 am this morning, the system was located about 620 km west of Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 780 km of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, 830 km of Visakhapatnam & Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and 930 km of Gopalpur in Odisha,” the IMD said on Sunday (October 26).

“It is likely to move nearly west-northwestwards, intensify further into a cyclonic storm over southwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours,” the mid-day bulletin issued at 1 pm said.

Red alert for five Odisha districts

The system will further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm — named Montha — by October 28 morning and is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, during the evening/night of October 28 with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph.

Odisha will experience very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on October 28 and 29, according to the weathermen. The IMD has issued a red alert for five Odisha districts — Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam — and orange and yellow alerts for several other districts.

The weather office also hoisted Distant Cautionary Signal No-I (DC-1) at all ports of Odisha and advised fishermen not to venture into the sea till October 29.

Also read: Cyclone Montha: Andhra braces for landfall, prepares action plan; Odisha on alert

Fishermen urged to return at once

An alert has been sounded across the Odisha coast from Ganjam to Balasore, with authorities urging fishermen and people to stay vigilant and not to venture into the sea as the conditions would be rough.

Authorities are using loudspeakers and megaphones to alert fishermen who ventured into the sea, urging them to return to the shore immediately. The administration is closely monitoring the situation to ensure the safe return of all fishing boats, officials said.

Odisha’s Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said all 30 districts in the state have been put on alert with men and machinery ready for rescue and relief operations.

The minister said District Collectors have been directed to evacuate people from low-lying areas due to impending heavy rainfall and places likely to be hit by surface wind.

Leaves of government employees cancelled

Seven districts in the southern and coastal areas have cancelled the leaves of government employees, keeping in view the urgency of the situation.

Gajapti District Collector Madhumita said relocation of pregnant women and vulnerable people has begun. The people living in vulnerable areas and kutcha houses are being evacuated to safe shelter, she said.

All Anganwadi centres and schools will remain closed till October 30, and two ODRAF teams have been deployed in the district, she said.

The Puri administration has imposed restrictions on the entry of tourists to the sea beaches on October 27, 28 and 29 in view of the impending cyclone.

Also read: Study reveals sharp increase in number of people affected by tropical cyclones since 2002

Bengal to get rain too

The storm will bring heavy rain in some districts of West Bengal too from October 28-31, the IMD has said. It has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off the West Bengal coast from October 28-30, and asked all those already in the waters to return by October 27.

The weather system will start bringing light to moderate rain in some south Bengal districts, including Kolkata, South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Howrah, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura and Hooghly, from October 27, the IMD said in a bulletin.

Heavy rain will occur at one or two places in the south Bengal districts of North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Howrah, Purulia, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum and Murshidabad between October 28 and October 31, it said.

The IMD said heavy rainfall is also likely to occur in the north Bengal districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur and Malda between October 30 and October 31.

(With agency inputs)