Cyclone 'Montha': Rain lashes parts of Odisha; landslides, damage to properties reported

Rain lashed several parts of Odisha, including the state's capital Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday as severe cyclone 'Montha' weakened into a cyclonic storm and was moving through neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, IMD said.

Several incidents of landslides, uprooting of trees, and damage to houses have been reported from various districts, an official at the Special Relief Commissioner’s office said.

Light-to-moderate rain with wind speed ranging from 30 kmph to 40 kmph was recorded across the coastal belt, including Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts, in the state, the IMD bulletin said. The maximum of 105 mm rainfall has been recorded in Mayurbhanj district, followed by 93.5 mm in Balasore, 90 mm in Khurda and 74.4 mm in Chandbali, the bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Centre (IMD) said.

With the severe cyclone 'Montha' losing strength after its landfall on Tuesday evening in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre withdrew its 'red' (take action) and 'orange' (be prepared for action) alerts on the southern Odisha region and issued a fresh forecast. “We have issued a 'yellow' warning (be aware) of heavy rainfall, very likely to occur at isolated places in Ganjam, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajpati, Kalahandi, and Nawarangpur districts,” said Dr Manorama Mohanty, the director of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar.

She said the forecast on the wind speed has also been revised. "Malkangiri and Koraput districts will experience surface wind in the range of 45 kmph to 55 kmph, gusting to 65 kmph, while the wind speed in Gajapati, Rayagada, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur will be between 35 kmph and 45 kmph," Mohanty said.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had on Tuesday night reviewed the post-landfall situation of the cyclone and said 'Montha' had no major impact on Odisha. He, however, said that the deployment of rescue teams and other preparedness measures will continue till the system crosses the state during the day.

The IMD, in its latest bulletin, said, “The cyclonic storm 'Montha' over coastal Andhra Pradesh moved nearly north-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during past six hours and lay centered (at 5.30 am) at about 80 km northwest of Narsapur (Andhra Pradesh), 230 km west-southwest of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 460 km southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha).”

The system is likely to move north-northwestwards across coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and weaken into a deep depression during the next three hours and into a depression during the subsequent six hours, the IMD said. It also said the movement of the cyclone is being closely monitored through Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) located at Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam, along with data from coastal observatories, automatic weather stations (AWS), ships, buoys, and satellites.

The authorities continue to monitor the weakening storm as it moves inland, bringing heavy rainfall and gusty winds to several parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh, the IMD bulletin added.