Amaravati, Oct 28(HS):

Cyclone Montha over the west-central Bay of Bengal moved north-northwest at a speed of 17 km per hour in the past six hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.

At 2:30 am, the cyclone was centred about 310 km south-southeast of Kakinada and 230 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam. It was also located 370 km south of Visakhapatnam and 570 km south-southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha.

According to the IMD, Montha is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, on Tuesday evening or night as a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 90–100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.

Heavy Rainfall Alert

The weather department has issued a red alert for 19 districts in Andhra Pradesh, warning of extremely heavy rainfall in some areas.

An orange alert has been issued for Nandyal, Kadapa, and Annamayya districts, where heavy to very heavy rain is expected.

A yellow alert is in place for Kurnool, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, and Chittoor districts, predicting heavy rain in a few places.

The IMD also said there could be light thunderstorms with lightning and winds up to 40 kmph in parts of Annamayya, Kadapa, and Nandyal districts over the next few hours.

Flights Cancelled

Bad weather has affected air travel. Nine flights between Chennai and Andhra Pradesh, including those to Visakhapatnam, were cancelled on Tuesday morning.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar