Cyclone Montha Threatens Andhra Coast with Intense Winds

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and the Meteorological Department have issued warnings for high sea waves along the Andhra Pradesh coast, from Nellore to Srikakulam. The area is bracing for waves between 2 to 4.7 meters as Cyclone Montha intensifies into a cyclonic storm on the morning of October 28.

A joint bulletin reports that these high waves will persist for six hours, between 5:30 pm and 11:30 pm today. The cyclonic storm, named 'Montha,' was located over the westcentral and southwest Bay of Bengal at 5:30 pm, moving northwest at 15 km/h for the past six hours. Expected to escalate into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning, Montha is currently 450 km south to southeast of Kakinada and 420 km east of Chennai.

The Met Department forecasts that the cyclone will impact regions by crossing the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada on the evening and night of October 28. A one-meter storm surge is predicted to induce flooding in low-lying coastal areas. Rainfall will be light to moderate in most impacted areas, with heavy to extremely heavy rains expected in isolated regions between October 27 and 29.