Cyclone Montha made landfall on India’s east coast late Tuesday, bringing torrential rain and strong winds, the National Weather Office said.
Local media reports said at least one person died.
Severe cyclonic storm Montha has weakened into a cyclonic storm over coastal Andhra Pradesh in south India, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
“It is very likely to move almost north-northwestwards over coastal Andhra Pradesh and maintain cyclonic storm intensity during next 6 hours, and weaken into a deep depression during subsequent 6 hours,” the IMD post said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the IMD announced the beginning of the landfall process and said that a “severe cyclonic storm”, with maximum sustained wind speed of 90–100 kilometers (55–60 mph) per hour, was crossing the Andhra Pradesh coast.
Fear of impact on millions of people
Authorities have evacuated thousands of residents from low-lying areas and set up more than 1,900 relief camps.
Nara Lokesh, minister in the Andhra Pradesh state government, said that around 40 lakh people may be affected.
Heavy rains earlier in the day led to flooding in parts of the state’s coastal districts and forced the cancellation of more than 30 flights, local media reported.
Schools and colleges were ordered closed in several districts, train services were disrupted and fishing activities were suspended.
State officials said 19 districts could be affected, with initial reports of flooding and crop damage in coastal areas.
Neighboring state Odisha was also put on alert for heavy rain.
Climate change behind the intensification of storms
Cyclone Montha is the latest in a series of intense storms to hit India’s east coast.
In 2023, India’s deadliest cyclone season killed 523 people and caused an estimated $2.5 billion (€2.15 billion) in damage.
Scientists link rising ocean temperatures to climate change, which causes more intense storms.
“Global warming is increasing air temperatures and also warming the oceans,” Akshay Deoras, a meteorologist at the University of Reading in England, told news agency AP. “And if an ocean is very warm, it will supply a lot of energy to any tropical storm over the ocean.”
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko