Cyclone ‘Montha’ landfall complete, to weaken into depression by Oct 29 evening: IMD

Cyclonic Storm Montha over coastal Andhra Pradesh is expected to weaken into a deep depression within the next three hours, and further into a depression during the subsequent six hours as it travels across coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, informed the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The weather department stated that the storm continued moving north-northwestwards at around 15 kmph, and by 5:30 am on Wednesday, it was centred near latitude 17.0°N and longitude 81.3°E.

The coordinates correspond to about 80 km northwest of Narsapur, 100 km west of Kakinada, and 460 km southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha. The IMD stated that the rear sector of the storm has already entered land, marking the end of the landfall process.

It also added that continuous monitoring of the storm’s movement is underway through Doppler weather radars at Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam, along with data from coastal observatories, satellites, and automatic weather stations.

Five-Hour Landfall Near Narasapur

Cyclone Montha made landfall late Tuesday night near Narasapur, south of Kakinada, between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam along the Andhra coast. The landfall, which began around 11:30 pm and continued till 4:30 am, lasted nearly five hours.

During this period, wind speeds reached 90–100 kmph, with gusts touching up to 110 kmph, lashing multiple districts including Machilipatnam, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Bapatla, Kavali, Ulavapadu, and Nellore. Rough sea conditions prevailed, and high tidal surges breached coastal embankments in several low-lying areas.

The IMD later confirmed that the system crossed the coast slightly south of Kakinada, deviating from earlier projections that placed the expected landfall closer to the city.

ALSO READ: Cyclone Montha havoc: Drain water, sewage flood homes in Berhampur

Heavy Rain To Continue Over Interior Regions

Although the cyclone’s core intensity has decreased, widespread rain continues across coastal Andhra Pradesh, with the system now moving inland toward Telangana and southern Odisha. The weakening system is still likely to cause localised flooding and waterlogging in some districts due to persistent rain.

As of Wednesday morning, no large-scale destruction has been reported, though strong winds and uprooted trees have disrupted power supply and road connectivity in parts of East Godavari and West Godavari districts, as per the last reports.