Severe cyclone ‘Montha’ weakened into a cyclonic storm and moved ahead of neighboring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, causing rain in many parts of the state including Odisha capital Bhubaneswar. India Meteorological Department (IMD) gave this information.
An official of the Special Relief Commissioner’s office said that several incidents of landslides, uprooting of trees and damage to houses have been reported from different districts.
IMD said that on Wednesday it rained in many parts of the state including Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar. Severe cyclone ‘Montha’ has weakened into a cyclonic storm and is passing through neighboring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
An official of the Special Relief Commissioner’s office said that several incidents of landslides, uprooting of trees and damage to houses have been reported from different districts.
According to the IMD bulletin, light to moderate rain with wind speed reaching 30 to 40 km per hour was recorded along the coastal areas of the state including Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts.
According to the bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Center (IMD), Mayurbhanj district recorded the highest rainfall of 105 mm, followed by Balasore at 93.5 mm, Khurda at 90 mm and Chandbali at 74.4 mm.
With severe cyclone ‘Montha’ losing strength after making landfall in neighboring Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday evening, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Center withdrew its ‘red’ (take action) and ‘orange’ (be prepared to take action) alerts for the southern Odisha region and issued a fresh forecast.
Dr Manorama Mohanty, Director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre, said, “We have issued a ‘yellow’ warning (be careful) of heavy rain at isolated places in Ganjam, Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Koraput, Malkangiri, Raigarh, Gajapati, Kalahandi and Navrangpur districts.” He said the wind speed forecast has also been revised.
Mohanty said, “Malkangiri and Koraput districts will see surface winds of 45 to 55 km per hour, which may increase to 65 km per hour, while Gajapati, Raigarh, Kalahandi and Navrangpur will see wind speed between 35 to 45 km per hour.”
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed the situation after the cyclone’s arrival on Tuesday night and said ‘Montha’ has not had any major impact on Odisha.
However, he said the deployment of rescue teams and other preparedness measures will continue until the storm crosses the state during the day.
“Cyclonic storm ‘Month’ along coastal Andhra Pradesh moved nearly north-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during the last six hours and (at 5.30 am) lay about 80 km northwest of Narsapur (Andhra Pradesh), 230 km west-southwest of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 230 km west-southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha),” the IMD said in its latest bulletin. “Was centered 460 km southwest.”
The IMD said the storm will move north-northwestwards through coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and weaken into a deep depression during the next three hours and a deep depression during the subsequent six hours.
It also said that the movement of the cyclone is being closely monitored through Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) based at Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam, along with data received from coastal observatories, Automated Weather Stations (AWS), ships, buoys and satellites.
The IMD bulletin said officials are keeping an eye on the weakening storm as it continues to bring heavy rains and strong winds to many parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh.
