Also Read
Cyclonic storm 'Montha' over the westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north to northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during the past six hours and intensified into a severe cyclonic storm by 5.30 am on Tuesday, said the Meteorological Department.
The weather system lay centred 190 km south to southeast of Machilipatnam, 270 km south to southeast of Kakinada and 340 km south to southeast of Vizag at 5.30 am.
"The cyclonic storm Montha over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph during the past six hours (and) intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and lay centred at 5.30 am about 190 km south to south east of Machilipatnam," said the Met Department in an official release.
The Visakhapatnam International Airport, which handles about 60 flights daily, connecting the city to 13 domestic and two international destinations, saw major disruptions affecting hundreds of passengers.
With Cyclone Montha expected to intensify, all 42 IndiGo and 12 Air India Express flights to and from Visakhapatnam have been cancelled for October 28.
A Delhi–Visakhapatnam IndiGo flight was diverted to Bhubaneswar earlier on Monday due to adverse weather.
Airport Director N. Purusottam said, “We are closely monitoring developments and coordinating with airlines to reschedule services and ensure passenger safety.” The Air India Express flight IX-2743 from Vijayawada was cancelled, and the IndiGo Vizag–Bengaluru service was suspended.
Several coaching trains have also been cancelled by East Coast Railway (ECoR) on Oct 28, and a couple of trains have been cancelled on Oct 29 as a precautionary measure.
The South Central Railway (SCR) on Monday announced the cancellation of several train services.
The cancellations include services on key routes such as Vijayawada–Bhimavaram, Machilipatnam–Vijayawada, Rajahmundry–Visakhapatnam, Chennai Central–Visakhapatnam, and Secunderabad–Visakhapatnam.
The cyclone is likely to continue to move north-northwestwards and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada during the evening and night of Tuesday as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph and gusting to 110 kmph.
The Met Department forecast heavy rains across several places of the southern state under the influence of Montha.
Montha means a fragrant flower in Thai language.
