Cyclone Montha: Andhra sets up 800 relief camps; CM Naidu, deputy CM Pawan Kalyan monitor response

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh is on high alert as Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) Montha is expected to make landfall near Kakinada on Tuesday night, bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall along the coast. The state government has set up over 800 relief centres and shifted pregnant women to hospitals as part of precautionary measures.

Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation from the Real-Time Governance System (RTGS) control room, along with deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, ministers Nara Lokesh, V Anitha, and P Narayana, chief secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad, and senior officials from various departments.

Kakinada MP Uday Srinivas Tangella, who is on the ground in Uppada, said the administration is fully prepared to handle the cyclone’s impact. “Our government is fully prepared to face this cyclone,” Tangella told ANI.

“As the MP, I am on the ground and have arranged more than 800 relief centres where we are providing all basic facilities. We have deployed 1000 electricians to ensure 24-hour power in the area in case of any eventuality. 140 swimmers with boats are also deployed here. The pregnant ladies have been shifted to different hospitals,” he said.

Tangella added that NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed in Kakinada district.

“Our party cadres are urging people to move to shelter and relief homes. We are trying to ensure there are no casualties. We are on the ground to help the public,” he said.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Montha is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Tuesday evening and midnight with maximum sustained wind speeds of 90–100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.

“The SCS Montha moved north-northwestwards and at 1430 hrs IST of 28th Oct, it lay about 70 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam, 150 km south-southeast of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), 250 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 480 km south-southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha),” the IMD said in a post on X.

At the national level, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw directed the railways to take precautionary measures in anticipation of Cyclone Montha’s impact along the East Coast, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana.