Visakhapatnam, Oct 29: Cyclonic Storm Montha has weakened into a Cyclonic Storm after making landfall near Narasapur, Andhra Pradesh, late Tuesday night. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the storm moved northwestward at a speed of 10 kmph over the last six hours before losing strength.

As of 2:30 a.m. on October 29, the storm was located near latitude 16.5°N and longitude 81.5°E, about 20 km west-northwest of Narasapur, 50 km northeast of Machilipatnam, 90 km west-southwest of Kakinada, 230 km southwest of Visakhapatnam, and 470 km southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha.

The IMD has reported that Cyclone Montha is expected to continue moving northwest across coastal Andhra Pradesh, maintaining its cyclonic intensity for the next six hours. However, the storm is forecast to further weaken into a deep depression within the following six hours.

Latest updates confirm that the rear sector of Cyclone Montha has now made landfall, completing the landfall process. The storm is being closely monitored using Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) stationed at Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam, alongside data from coastal observatories, automatic weather stations (AWS), ships, buoys, and satellites.

Authorities are continuing to track the weakening storm as it moves inland, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds to various parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh.