Cyclone Montha: Andhra, Odisha battered: 1 dead, thousands evacuated

KAIKNADA/BHUBANESWAR: Cyclone Montha roared ashore connected the eastbound seashore Tuesday night, slamming into Andhra Pradesh betwixt Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam adjacent Kakinada with winds topping 100km an hr and sheets of rainfall that ripped done towns, snapped powerfulness lines, and sent waves surging 10ft high. The season's archetypal large cyclone made landfall arsenic a terrible tempest astir 7.30pm, its crossing lasting astir 4 hours. Trees laic strewn crossed highways, powerfulness poles twisted successful the wind, and rescue teams battled driving rainfall to wide the roads. A pistillate died successful Makanapalem colony of Mamidikuduru mandal erstwhile a histrion crashed onto her home. Across the borderline successful Odisha, Montha's outer bands brought torrential rainfall and winds up to 100kmph done Ganjam and Gajapati districts, blocking roads and toppling trees.

No casualties were reported, but landslides chopped disconnected stretches of R Udayagiri, Parlakhemundi, Huma, and Kashipur.Sea turns convulsive successful Kakinada, floods homes, tears up roads The oversea turned convulsive astatine Uppada successful Kakinada district, flooding homes and tearing up the coastal road. Police sealed the Kakinada-Uppada formation roadworthy aft waves breached embankments. As the cyclone's oculus passed inland, thousands huddled successful shelters, waiting for the tempest to pass. Over 10,000 Andhra residents, mostly sportfishing families, were evacuated from 65 villages successful 12 coastal mandals earlier landfall.

Kakinada territory collector S Shan Mohan said 2 NDRF teams and 1 SDRF portion were successful the field, backed by 200 swimmers and 140 boats. "Helipads person been kept acceptable to airlift radical from submerged areas arsenic and erstwhile required," helium said. More than 12,000 radical took structure successful 76 cyclone alleviation centres. Nearly 1,000 heads of cattle were moved to safer ground. Eight flights were cancelled astatine Rajahmundry airport, disrupting connections to Tirupati, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai. In Odisha, authorities govt opened implicit 2,000 cyclone shelters and deployed 158 exigency teams - 5 NDRF, 30 ODRAF, and 123 occurrence work units - to pb rescue and alleviation work. CM Mohan Majhi reviewed operations and said that 11,000 susceptible radical had been moved to information nether the "zero casualty" mission. "Another 30,000 could beryllium evacuated if conditions worsen," helium said. Deputy main curate KV Singhdeo said harvest harm was extended and promised assistance erstwhile territory reports get wrong a week. IMD manager wide Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said Montha's interaction would linger done Wednesday, bringing dense to highly dense rainfall to confederate Odisha earlier weakening implicit Chhattisgarh. Wind speeds could scope 80kmph arsenic the strategy moves inland. Regional IMD main Manorama Mohanty said rainfall volition taper disconnected by Friday, with lingering showers Thursday successful interior Odisha.