Severe cyclonic storm ‘Cyclone Montha’ in Andhra Pradesh makes landfall near Kakinada around 7 pm on Tuesday, bringing intense rain and gusty winds to several coastal districts. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the landfall process would continue for three to four hours, affecting the north and south coastal regions.
By 6:30 pm, Cyclone Montha was located about 90 km east of Machilipatnam, 100 km south of Kakinada, and 210 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam, moving at 17 kmph. The storm was positioned 440 km southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha.
Heavy rainfall from Cyclone Montha in Andhra Pradesh
Cyclone Montha triggered widespread rainfall, submerging crops and damaging infrastructure. The agriculture department’s preliminary estimates showed that floods inundated over 43,000 hectares of crops, affecting 83,000 farmers. Paddy and cotton were the most affected. Losses to the power sector have exceeded ₹2,200 crore, with major damage to substations, transformers, poles, and power lines.
After pounding North Coastal Andhra on Monday, the cyclone shifted southward on Tuesday, bringing heavy rain to Nellore and Prakasam districts. Ulavapadu in Nellore recorded the highest rainfall at 167 mm, followed by Kavali (162.75 mm) and Dagadarthi (147.5 mm). In Prakasam district, Singarayakonda, Pakala, and Ongole received 131.5 mm, 122 mm, and 100.5 mm, respectively.
Kakinada and other districts affected
Kakinada, where Cyclone Montha made landfall, reported moderate showers till evening. Light to heavy rain occurred in Tirupati, Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, YSR Kadapa, and Bapatla districts.
The IMD withdrew red alerts for some areas and issued orange alerts for Srikakulam, Parvathipuram Manyam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Anakapalli, Eluru, NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Palnadu, Bapatla, and Nandyal districts.
The Kakinada district administration has set up 401 relief camps and evacuated about 35,000 residents from low-lying areas. Kakinada District Collector Shan Mohan Sagili said authorities were using religious places as temporary shelters. He noted that the number of evacuees would increase since 67 villages, five towns, and Kakinada city were within the cyclone’s impact zone. He added that officials had deployed 1,600 school buses to evacuate residents safely.
CM Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to deploy NDRF and SDRF teams in and around Kakinada. This is to ensure smooth coordination and emergency preparedness in view of the Montha toofan.
Government restricts vehicular movement in several districts between 8:30 pm to 6 am
The Andhra Pradesh government restricted vehicular movement in all cyclone-hit districts between 8:30 pm to 6 am on Wednesday.
Transport services were hit as the Montha toofan in Andhra Pradesh intensified. The South Central Railway (SCR) cancelled 20 trains, including 10 originating from Visakhapatnam.
Authorities cancelled 32 flights from Visakhapatnam Airport, operating only one nine-seater flight on Tuesday. They also called off the Vijayawada–Visakhapatnam–Vijayawada IndiGo service scheduled for Wednesday. At Vijayawada Airport, airlines grounded 16 flights, while four flights from Tirupati were cancelled because of adverse weather conditions.
In Visakhapatnam, which recorded more than 147 mm of rain on Monday, the municipal corporation removed 119 fallen trees to restore road access.
AP SDMA and IMD advisory
Authorities have urged residents in cyclone-prone districts to remain indoors and avoid coastal areas until Cyclone Montha weakens. Strong winds and high tides are expected to continue through the night, the IMD said.
