Cyclone Montha is likely to cross Andhra Pradesh coast near Kakinada on Tuesday

Amaravati, Oct 26 (IANS) The deep depression in the southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast near Kakinada on Tuesday night, the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) said on Sunday.

APSDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain said on Sunday night that the deep depression moved at a speed of 8 km per hour in the last 6 hours. It is currently centered 720 km from Chennai, 790 km from Visakhapatnam and 780 km from Kakinada.

The deep depression is likely to intensify into a cyclone over the south-west and west-central Bay of Bengal within 12 hours. It could turn into a severe cyclone by Tuesday morning and is likely to cross the coast near Kakinada by that night, he said.

Since there is a possibility of a strong storm with a speed of 90-110 km per hour along the coast, people have been advised to stay safe indoors.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the system is likely to cross Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada as a severe cyclonic storm during the evening/night of October 28, with a maximum speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph.

The APSDMA MD said nine teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have reached the coastal districts for relief operations, while some more teams are ready at the headquarters.

Meanwhile, the state government has allowed district collectors to withdraw funds under TR-27 to meet immediate expenses for rescue and relief operations.

The government has issued an order allowing collectors of all 26 districts to withdraw Rs 19 crore. While 12 districts have been allowed to withdraw Rs 1 crore each, the remaining districts have been allowed to withdraw Rs 50 lakh.

All collectors have been directed to give priority to evacuation of victims from flood areas to relief camps, provision of safe drinking water, food, milk, health check-up and maintenance of health camps and sanitation and immediate repair of roads and irrigation infrastructure.

All Collectors have been instructed to hire APSRTC buses as far as possible to transport the victims to relief camps and take steps to pay the charges to APSRTC. They are also directed to use government schools/colleges as relief camps as far as possible if the cyclone shelters are not adequate to accommodate the affected citizens.

Heavy to very heavy rain is likely in Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam and Nellore districts on Monday.

Heavy rain is likely to occur in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Manyam, Alluri Seetharama Raju, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalle, East Godavari, Eluru, NTR, Guntur, Palnadu, Chittoor and Tirupati districts.

Heavy to very heavy rain is likely in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalle, Kakinada, Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur and Bapatla districts on Tuesday.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely in Manyam, Palanadu, Prakasam, Nellore, Kurnool, Nandyal, Cuddapah and Tirupati districts.

Home and Disaster Management Minister V. Anitha held a video conference with Anakapalle, Kakinada, Konaseema collectors, special officers and SPs on Sunday to review the preparedness to deal with the situation.

Since strong winds of up to 100 kmph can cause disruption in power supply, officials were directed to keep transformers and poles ready for restoration. They were also asked to keep JCB and generator ready.

Minister asks officials to ensure that heavy hoardings are removed immediately

Since the cyclone is likely to have maximum impact in six mandals of Kakinada district, he directed officials to set up more relief camps in the area.

Officials have been instructed to convince people of coastal villages to move to relief camps in advance.

–IANS

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