New Delhi : As Cyclone Montha intensifies and approaches the Andhra Coast on Tuesday night, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has pre-deployed 22 teams to likely-affected coastal districts across multiple states.
Out of 22 teams, 10 have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh, six in Odisha, three in Tamil Nadu, two in Chhattisgarh, and one in Puducherry, according to a release issued by the NDRF.
A total of 20 additional teams are kept on standby at strategic locations for immediate deployment, if required. Each team is equipped with boats, cutting equipment, communication equipment, and other specialised rescue tools to carry out evacuation, relief, and restoration operations, the NDRF added.
The cyclone over the west-central Bay of Bengal has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and is expected to make landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, during the evening or night of Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
According to the IMD, “The Cyclonic Storm Montha over the west-central Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during the past 6 hours, intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, and lay centred at 0530 hrs IST today, the 28th October 2025, about 190 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 270 km south-southeast of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), 340 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), and 550 km south-southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha).”
“It is likely to continue to move north-northwestwards and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada during the evening/night of today, the 28th October, as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph,” it added.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi chaired a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday to assess the state’s preparedness for Cyclone Montha.
Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management Suresh Pujari, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, SRC DK Singh, DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, Fire Services DG Sudhanshu Sarangi, IMD Director Manorama Mohanty, and senior officials from concerned departments were also present.
District Collectors from cyclone-vulnerable areas also joined the preparedness review meeting virtually, according to a release issued by the State government.
Several coastal districts in Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha, towards which the cyclone is expected to move after landfall, have already experienced heavy rainfall this morning.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, also received rainfall this morning. As per IMD, moderate rain with light thunderstorms and lightning is very likely to occur at a few places over Chengalpattu, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Kanniyakumari, Ranipet, Tenkasi, Thiruvallur, Thoothukkudi, Tirunelveli, Tirupathur, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Viluppuram, and Virudhunagar today.
As Cyclone Montha moves closer to the eastern coast, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to take immediate action to safeguard lives and minimise damage in coastal areas. (ANI)
