Cyclone ‘Montha’ triggers heavy rain in Twin City Cuttack and Bhubaneswar; IMD predicts more showers

Under the influence of Cyclone Montha, the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack witnessed heavy rainfall on Tuesday, disrupting daily life and traffic movement since early morning.

Reports stated that showers began around 8 am in both cities and continued intermittently, with another spell hitting the state capital around 10 am. The sky remained overcast, accompanied by occasional gusty winds.

Commuters in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar faced waterlogging in several low-lying areas, while pedestrians took shelter as the rain persisted through the day, added sources.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that the system has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal, causing widespread rain across most districts of Odisha. The department has warned that the rainfall activity is likely to continue over the next four days, with varying intensities across regions.

IMD Forecast For Odisha

In its latest forecast, the IMD predicted light to moderate rain or thundershowers at most places across the state till November 1. The intensity is expected to be highest over the southern districts, where the cyclone’s main cloud bands will pass during and after landfall.

Day 1 (Valid till 8:30 am of Oct 29):

Red Warning: Scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall (7–20 cm) with isolated extremely heavy rainfall (>20 cm) in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, and Ganjam.

Orange Warning: Heavy to very heavy rainfall in Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Khordha, and Puri.

Yellow Warning: Heavy rainfall in Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, and other northern districts.

Day 2 (Oct 29–30):

Red warning continues for Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, and Rayagada, while Cuttack, Khordha, Puri, and Ganjam will experience moderate to heavy rainfall under a yellow alert.

Day 3 (Oct 30–31):

Yellow warning for Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Keonjhar, and Mayurbhanj, as the system weakens but continues to bring moisture inland.

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Widespread Rain Expected Across State

The IMD added that light to moderate rain or thundershowers are very likely to occur at most places over the districts of Odisha for the next two days and at many places thereafter.
The state’s southern and coastal belts will experience the heaviest spells, while interior and northern districts will see intermittent rainfall with gusty winds over the next 72 hours.

Meanwhile, Cyclone Montha is expected to continue moving north-northwestwards and make landfall between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, by Tuesday evening or night as a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 90–100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.