The Kakinada Port in Andhra Pradesh was placed under the highest alert on Tuesday as Cyclone Montha approached the state’s coastline.
The Cyclone Warning Centre in Visakhapatnam upgraded the warning at Kakinada to Great Danger Signal No. 10, indicating an imminent and severe threat to the port area.
Meanwhile, Great Danger Signal No. 9 was hoisted at the Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Kalingapatnam, and Bheemunipatnam ports, while Signal No. 8 was issued for the Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam, Krishnapatnam, and Vadarevu ports, the authorities said.
According to Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), cyclonic storm Montha over the west-central Bay of Bengal has intensified into a severe cyclone and moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 12 kmph during the past six hours.
It lies centred about 160 km from Machilipatnam, 240 km from Kakinada and 320 km from Visakhapatnam. The system is being continuously monitored from the Disaster Management Authority’s control room.
The severe cyclone is expected to cross the coast between Kakinada and Machilipatnam tonight, bringing gusty winds of 90–110 kmph. Heavy to torrential rain is expected from Srikakulam to Nellore. The APSDMA has advised residents to stay indoors, and the IMD has issued a red alert for coastal Andhra Pradesh.
It said in a bulletin that scattered heavy to very heavy with extremely heavy rainfall likely to occur at one or two places over Srikakulam, Parvathipuram, Manyam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitharama Raju, Anakapalli, Kakinada-Yanam, Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Palnadu, Bapatla and Prakasam districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at a few places over Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore, Tirupati, Annamayya, YSR Kadapa and Nandyal districts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Rayalaseema.
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has issued high wave alerts for coastal districts. It forecasted high waves in the range of 3 – 4.7 meters. INCOIS has advised small vessels not to ply near shore and to suspend recreational activities. Erosion/wave surges are possible under the impact of the cyclone.
(IANS)