'Montha' slams Andhra, batters Odisha: 1 dead, thousands evacuated

KAIKNADA/BHUBANESWAR: Cyclone Montha roared ashore on the eastern coast Tuesday night, slamming into Andhra Pradesh between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada with winds topping 100km an hour and sheets of rain that ripped through towns, snapped power lines, and sent waves surging 10ft high.

The season's first major cyclone made landfall as a severe storm around 7.30pm, its crossing lasting nearly 4 hours. Trees lay strewn across highways, power poles twisted in the wind, and rescue teams battled driving rain to clear the roads. A woman died in Makanapalem village of Mamidikuduru mandal when a tree crashed onto her home.

Across the border in Odisha, Montha's outer bands brought torrential rain and winds up to 100kmph through Ganjam and Gajapati districts, blocking roads and toppling trees. No casualties were reported, but landslides cut off stretches of R Udayagiri, Parlakhemundi, Huma, and Kashipur.

Sea turns violent in Kakinada, floods homes, tears up roads

The sea turned violent at Uppada in Kakinada district, flooding homes and tearing up the coastal road. Police sealed the Kakinada-Uppada beach road after waves breached embankments. As the cyclone's eye passed inland, thousands huddled in shelters, waiting for the storm to pass. Over 10,000 Andhra residents, mostly fishing families, were evacuated from 65 villages in 12 coastal mandals before landfall.

Kakinada district collector S Shan Mohan said two NDRF teams and one SDRF unit were in the field, backed by 200 swimmers and 140 boats. "Helipads have been kept ready to airlift people from submerged areas as and when required," he said. More than 12,000 people took shelter in 76 cyclone relief centres. Nearly 1,000 heads of cattle were moved to safer ground.

Eight flights were cancelled at Rajahmundry airport, disrupting connections to Tirupati, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai.

In Odisha, state govt opened over 2,000 cyclone shelters and deployed 158 emergency teams - five NDRF, 30 ODRAF, and 123 fire service units - to lead rescue and relief work. CM Mohan Majhi reviewed operations and said that 11,000 vulnerable people had been moved to safety under the "zero casualty" mission. "Another 30,000 could be evacuated if conditions worsen," he said.

Deputy chief minister KV Singhdeo said crop damage was extensive and promised aid once district reports arrive within a week.

IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said Montha's impact would linger through Wednesday, bringing heavy to extremely heavy rainfall to southern Odisha before weakening over Chhattisgarh. Wind speeds could reach 80kmph as the system moves inland.

Regional IMD chief Manorama Mohanty said rainfall will taper off by Friday, with lingering showers Thursday in interior Odisha.