A sense of urgency and fear is growing on India’s eastern coast as severe Cyclone Montha moves closer. In response to the threat, authorities have launched emergency evacuations, moving thousands of people to safety and shutting down schools in affected regions.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the storm, which formed in the Bay of Bengal, has intensified into a cyclone and is expected to make landfall near the coastal city of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.
Reports indicate the storm is currently southeast of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and is feared to strengthen further before it hits the coast. When it makes landfall, it is expected to bring destructive winds of 90 to 110 kilometers per hour (km/h).
Reflecting the serious nature of the situation, a “Red Alert” has been issued for 19 districts in Andhra Pradesh, with predictions of extremely heavy rainfall. The cyclone’s impact is also likely to cause rain in the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, and Karnataka.
Disaster management teams have been activated and have already moved 38,000 people from vulnerable areas into relief camps. The state government estimates that as many as 4 million people are in high-risk zones and could be affected by the cyclone.
Andhra Pradesh’s Communications Minister, Nara Lokesh, stated that authorities have ordered the evacuation of 1,238 villages. To support those displaced, 1,906 relief camps have been set up, and 364 schools have been converted into shelters.
Schools and colleges across the state have been ordered to close for two days, and fishermen have been strongly warned not to go to sea. Train services and flights in the region have also been partially disrupted.
In the neighboring state of Odisha, the administration has also begun moving 32,000 people to safer locations.
