India braces for Cyclone Montha as schools shut and thousands evacuate

India’s weather office has issued red alerts for 19 districts in Andhra Pradesh, forecasting extremely heavy rains. (AFP)

• The storm is currently hovering around 160 kilometers southeast of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh
• It is expected to intensify, bringing winds of 90 kph to 110 kph as it pushes toward India’s eastern coastline

NEW DELHI: Indian authorities have shut schools and evacuated tens of thousands of people from low-lying coastal areas as the country’s eastern seaboard braces for the impact of Cyclone Montha later Tuesday.
Swirling over the Bay of Bengal, Montha has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, and is expected to make a landfall tonight near the port city of Kakinada in southern Andhra Pradesh, the weather office said in its latest bulletin.
The storm is currently hovering around 160 kilometers southeast of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
It is expected to intensify, bringing winds of 90 kph to 110 kph as it pushes toward the country’s eastern coastline and make landfall.
The weather office has issued red alerts for 19 districts in Andhra Pradesh, forecasting extremely heavy rains. The neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerela and Karnataka are also expected to receive moderate to heavy showers.
Disaster teams in Andhra Pradesh have so far moved 38,000 people from low-lying areas to relief camps, according to a state disaster official. The state government estimates around 4 million people to be in vulnerable zones and likely to be affected by the cyclone.
The authorities have readied 1,906 relief camps and 364 school shelters as evacuations continue in 1,238 vulnerable villages, state’s minister for communications Nara Lokesh said in a social media post.
Schools and colleges have been ordered to remain shut till Wednesday and fishermen warned not to venture into sea for fishing. Trains and flight services were partially disrupted on Tuesday.
In Odisha, the state administration has begun shifting around 32,000 people from vulnerable areas to relief camps, a state disaster official said.
Climate scientists say severe storms are becoming more frequent in South Asia. Global warming driven by planet-heating gases has caused them to become more extreme and unpredictable.
India’s eastern coasts have long been prone to cyclones, but the number of intense storms is increasing along the country’s coast. 2023 was India’s deadliest cyclone season in recent years, killing 523 people and causing an estimated $2.5 billion in damage.