Bhubaneswar, Oct 28: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday said that Cyclone Montha intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal.
Under its influence, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, and Ganjam districts in Odisha are expected to witness extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 20 cm. The IMD has issued a red alert for these districts.
The weather department has issued orange alert for Nabarangapur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Khordha, and Puri districts, with forecasts of heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Similarly, a yellow alert has been issued for districts including Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, and Sundargarh, where heavy rainfall is likely.
As per reports, the Cyclone Montha is likely to make landfall near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh later this evening or tonight. It is likely to cause widespread rainfall across Odisha over the next four days, with the heaviest impact anticipated on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In its Tuesday morning bulletin, the IMD reported that the system was located approximately 190 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam, 270 km south-southeast of Kakinada, 340 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam, and 550 km south-southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha.
On the other hand, the East Coast Railway has cancelled 43 trains in view of the approaching cyclone. The cancellations include several trains originating from or passing through coastal Andhra, which were scheduled to depart on October 27, 28, or 29. Officials stated that the decision was taken to ensure the safety of passengers.
