Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the impact of Cyclone ‘Montha’ will be intense from Tuesday morning with 3,778 villages likely to receive heavy rains.
The cyclone Montha intensified into a severe cyclonic storm around 5.30 am on Tuesday, said the Meteorological Department.
Montha means a fragrant flower in Thai language.
“The impact of Montha will be severe from Tuesday morning. According to officials, 338 mandals and 3,778 villages have been forecast to receive heavy rainfall,” said Naidu in an official release late on Monday.
However, he said there was no need to worry about the cyclone and advised everybody to stay alert.
During a review meeting on Montha, the CM directed officials to inform people in real-time.
Consequently, real-time voice alerts were disseminated, and public address systems were also set up in 26 districts.
Across 22 districts, the state government set up 3,174 rehabilitation centres, which will be manned by 3,778 secretaries. These centres are equipped with essential commodities such as food and other items.
The highest number of rehabilitation centres have been set up in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district (650), followed by Bapatla (481) and East Godavari (376), among others.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) managing director Prakhar Jain said heavy rains will occur from Srikakulam to Nellore, the coastline of the southern state.
“People should not come out under any circumstances. If needed, the control room should be informed,” said Jain in an official release.
According to the APSDMA managing director, heavy rains are already lashing Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Nellore, Konaseema and Kakinada districts.
Observing that heavy rains will lash Visakhapatnam, Jain said Kapuluppada recorded a rainfall of 125 mm, followed by Visakhapatnam Rural (120 mm) and Anandapuram (117 mm).
He said heavy to very rains were recorded in 95 places.
Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Monday, the Met Department noted that Visakhapatnam logged a rainfall of 52 mm, Kakinada (21 mm), Narasapur (18 mm), Arogyavaram (15 mm), Tuni (12 mm), Machilipatnam (12 mm) and Nellore (11 mm).
Meanwhile, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) issued high sea waves, up to 4.7 metres high, warning across several coastal districts.
Similarly, it issued an ocean currents alert to East Godavari and Nellore districts.
“Ocean current alert for the coast of East Godavari from Antarvedi to Perumallapuram. Surface current speeds in the range of 0.8 to 1.2 metre per second are forecast during 7 am to 7 pm on October 28. It is advised that harbour and marine operations be careful,” said INCOIS in a release.
According to INCOIS, sea condition is very likely to be rough to very rough along and off Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts. It would worsen further to become very rough to high from Tuesday morning onwards and very high from Tuesday evening to October 29 early hours, it said.
Likewise, the Hyderabad-based INCOIS noted that danger signal number seven (DS-VII) is hoisted at Kakinada Port, DS-VI at Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram Ports and DS-V at Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam and Krishnapatnam Ports.
Further, it issued a storm surge warning of one metre height above astronomical tide, which is likely to cause inundation over low-lying areas of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam around the landfall time of the severe cyclonic storm.
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