Cyclone Montha Causes Havoc in Andhra Pradesh

Cyclone Montha unleashed heavy rains and strong winds across Vijayawada city on Wednesday morning, leading to the uprooting of several trees and significant waterlogging on roads. The severe cyclonic storm crossed Andhra Pradesh's coast near Narasapur in West Godavari district overnight, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

After making landfall, the storm system moved northwest at a speed of 10 kmph, gradually weakening into a cyclonic storm, as per the IMD bulletin released at 5 am. The latest observations indicated that the storm crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, close to Narsapur, late Tuesday night.

The cyclonic activity, lasting about five hours, began at approximately 7:30 pm on Tuesday and ended around 12:30 am Wednesday. As of early Wednesday, Montha weakened but remained centered about 20 km west-northwest of Narasapur. The IMD forecasts continued heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated parts of Andhra Pradesh, with potential intensification through October 29.