Cyclone Montha inching towards Kakinada west coast, says official

State special Chief Secretary and special officer to oversee cyclone ‘Montha’ relief operations in Visakhapatnam district Ajay Jain on Monday (October 27, 2025) said that cyclones may change their directions anytime, even at the last moment due to weather conditions, but as per the weather forecast on Monday, cyclone Montha was inching towards the west of Kakinada for landfall. Therefore, every coastal district of the State should be on high alert to reduce losses and achieve ‘zero causality rate’, he added.

He stressed that the period from late Monday night through the early hours of Wednesday (October 29) is extremely critical, urging both the public and authorities to remain on high alert.

After reviewing the cyclone preparedness with the district authorities, he told media persons at the Collectorate that cyclone Montha is reaching the A.P. coast at a speed of 19 kmph, and the speed may increase or decrease depending on the weather conditions by the time of its landfall.

“Cyclone Montha is likely to make landfall between the midnight of October 28 and the early hours of October 29. As per the current estimates, the point of landfall will be the west coast of Kakinada, but the direction may change. Nine coastal districts of the State with 16 urban areas, including Visakhapatnam city and 705 villages, will be affected due to the winds. A total of 1,058 evacuation centres have been identified in these nine districts and efforts have been made to shift 32,467 people to these centres, Mr. Jain said.

He urged the people not to stay in old buildings or under-construction buildings, while adding that 13,000 electricity poles have been made available to replace the electricity poles that will likely fall due to the winds.

In case of emergency, people can contact control rooms on 0891-2590100, 0891-2590102, WhatsApp number 9666909192 in the GVMC area, said Visakhapatnam Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad, who accompanied Mr. Jain.