Odisha on high alert as Cyclone Montha nears, heavy rainfall expected

Cyclone will likely make landfall on Oct 28. REPRESENTATION PIC/I STOCK

The Odisha government on Sunday 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, officials said.

Odisha will experience very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on October 28 and 29, they said. 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.

The cyclone will further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by October 28 morning and is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, warned IMD.

The Andhra Pradesh government has prepared an action plan for relief and essential supplies in pre-cyclone preparedness for Cyclone Montha.

State Civil Supplies Minister N Manohar said the action plan covers stock positioning of Public Distribution System (PDS) commodities, fuel inventory management, paddy procurement steps, food supply to relief shelters.

"The Andhra Pradesh government has prepared an action taken report detailing the pre-cyclone preparedness measures for Cyclone Montha, ensuring readiness before landfall," Manohar said in an official release late on Saturday.

District Collectors have been authorised to draw essential commodities from MLSPs for food preparation in cyclone shelters and disaster camps. Meanwhile, the Indian Army and the NDRF have also been placed on high alert in view of the developing cyclonic systems.

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