Cyclone Montha: Heavy rain lashes AP, Telangana; landslide in Odisha

Heavy rains lashed different districts of Telangana on Wednesday (October 29) due to the impact of severe cyclonic storm Montha, which crossed the coast in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh overnight.

In Telangana, Warangal, Mahabubabad, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Jangaon, Suryapet, Nalgonda, Nagarkurnool, Siddipet were among the districts that witnessed downpour, with rain lashing Hyderabad also.

CM Revanth Reddy holds review meeting

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy held a review meeting with senior officials with regard to the impact of cyclone Montha over Telangana.

Redlawada received 183.3 mm rainfall followed by Kalleda that received 159 mm, both in Warangal district, from 8.30 am to 2 pm, the Telangana Development Planning Society said.

Red alert

India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Mahabubabad, Warangal and Hanumakonda districts from 1 pm of Wednesday to 8.30 am of October 30. IMD warns that very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning, and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) are very likely to occur at isolated places in these districts.

A red alert indicates extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours.

Also Read: Andhra, Odisha breathe easy as Montha weakens without much damage

It further warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning, and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) are very likely to occur at isolated places in Adilabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Jagtial, Rajanna Sircilla, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Suryapet, Jangaon, Siddipet, and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts during the same period.

Holidays for educational institutions

Authorities declared holidays for all educational institutions in Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem, and Mahabubabad districts for Wednesday in view of the rains.

Nearly 500 students besides 26 teaching and non-teaching staff from the state-run residential boys’ school at Komapally in Nalgonda district were rescued and shifted to a safer place after the premises was inundated due to heavy rains.

Also Read: Landfall underway as Cyclone Montha hits Andhra coast, says IMD

An official of the Secunderabad-headquartered South Central Railway (SCR) said waterlogging was reported over the tracks at Dornakal railway station in Mahabubabad district.

Due to waterlogging at Dornakal yard, as many as seven passenger trains were cancelled, while some others were partially cancelled and also diverted, a SCR release said. TV visuals showed a truck with its driver getting washed away in an overflowing stream in Khammam district.

Montha made a landfall in Andhra Pradesh coast near Narasapur in West Godavari district, south of Kakinada.

Cyclone's impact in Andhra Pradesh

Even though Cyclone Montha did not inflict as much damage as feared, a number of trees were uprooted and many roads were inundated in Vijayawada as heavy rain with gale lashed the city on Wednesday (October 29) morning.

Montha, which was downgraded from a severe cyclonic storm to a cyclonic storm about six hours after landfall around 7.30 pm Tuesday, crossed Andhra Pradesh coast near Narasapur in West Godavari district, south of Kakinada overnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.

Also Read: Cyclone Montha brings rain and gales to coastal Andhra; authorities on high alert

According to the latest update posted on X by IMD at 9.17 am, the weather system “is likely to move north-northwest across coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and weaken into a deep depression during the next 3hours and into a depression during subsequent 6 hours.”

CM Naidu does aerial survey

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu did an aerial survey of affected districts in the state on Wednesday.

He said the cyclone caused heavy damage, but preparedness helped limit losses. He said over one lakh people have been sheltered in relief camps, and promised strong measures to address the drainage issue and to reduce the total losses. Nearly 35,000 hectares of paddy and coconut crops were damaged across Konaseema, Bapatla, and Prakasam districts.

The CM announced Rs 10 crore in immediate relief for restoration and compensation.

The chief minister visited villages hit by the cyclone, assessed crop damage, and assured farmers of full government support. He said over 400 teams from the Energy and Roads departments are working to restore power and clear debris, while officials remain stationed in affected areas until normalcy is restored.

Rain and landslides in Odisha

Rain lashed several parts of Odisha, too, including the state’s capital Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday as Montha moved through neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Several incidents of landslides, uprooting of trees, and damage to houses were reported from various districts, an official at the Special Relief Commissioner’s office said, according to news agency PTI.

Also Read: Montha to intensify into severe cyclone by Oct 28; Odisha begins evacuation

Light to moderate rain with wind speed ranging from 30 kmph to 40 kmph was recorded across the coastal belt, including Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts, in the state, an IMD bulletin said.

The maximum of 105 mm rainfall was recorded in Mayurbhanj district, followed by 93.5 mm in Balasore, 90 mm in Khurda, and 74.4 mm in Chandbali, the IMD bulletin said.

Alerts downgraded in Odisha

With Montha losing steam after landfall, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre withdrew its “red” (take action) and “orange” (be prepared for action) alerts on the southern Odisha region and issued a fresh forecast.

“We have issued a ‘yellow’ warning (be aware) of heavy rainfall, very likely to occur at isolated places in Ganjam, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajpati, Kalahandi, and Nawarangpur districts,” said Dr Manorama Mohanty, the director of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar.

She said the forecast on the wind speed has also been revised.

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

“Malkangiri and Koraput districts will experience surface wind in the range of 45 kmph to 55 kmph, gusting to 65 kmph, while the wind speed in Gajapati, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur will be between 35 kmph and 45 kmph,” Mohanty said.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had on Tuesday night reviewed the post-landfall situation of the cyclone and said Montha had no major impact on Odisha.

He, however, said that the deployment of rescue teams and other preparedness measures would continue till the system crosses the state during the day.

Rain to continue till Oct 30

The IMD bulletin issued at 5 am said that after crossing the Andhra coast overnight, the weather system moved northwest with a speed of 10 kmph over the previous six hours to weaken into a cyclonic storm.

“The latest observations indicate that the severe cyclonic storm Montha crossed Andhra Pradesh and Yanan coasts between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, south of Kakinada and close to Narsapur during midnight (11:30 pm of October 28 and 12:30 am of October 29),” IMD said in a release.

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

The landfall process lasted about five hours, starting around 7.30 pm on Tuesday and completing around 12.30 am on Wednesday, it added.

The Met Department has forecast light to moderate rainfall at most places in Andhra Pradesh and Yanam and heavy to very rainfall at a few places till October 29. For October 30, it predicted light to moderate rainfall at many places with heavy rainfall at isolated places over north coastal Andhra Pradesh.