The severe cyclonic storm Montha on Tuesday brought heavy rain in coastal and southern Odisha districts, causing landslides, damaging houses and uprooting trees, officials said.
The landfall of Montha started in Kakinada in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh at about 7pm and the process will continue for three to four hours, the Met office said. One fatality was reported in Andhra Pradesh’s Konaseema district, where a 50-year-old woman died after a tree branch fell on her amid strong winds and rain.
Narayan Rao, 45, a prawn farm worker in Kakinada said: “I have been staying in this area for the last 10 years. We are used to cyclones. There was no rain till late afternoon but it has started raining now. We are worried about the likely damage to the farm which is our bread and butter.”
The preliminary reports of damages were received from eight southern Odisha districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur.
Normal life, however, was affected in a total of 15 districts in the region.
A report from Anaka gram panchayat in Gajapati district said big boulders fell from nearby hills, blocking roads to five villages.
“The place was earlier identified as a landslide-prone area. Therefore, arrangements have been made for early clearance of the blockade,” said Balakrushna Mallick, a local panchayat functionary.
Another landslide was also reported from Linga–Barabha road in Partoda panchayat Kashinagar block of Gajapati.
Trees were also uprooted in Gunupur, Gudari and Ramnaguda areas of Rayagada district.
“Reports of damage from different districts would be compiled once the cyclone crosses the state,” an official at the special relief commissioner (SRC) office said.
A report from Mohana in Gajapati district said a mud-walled house collapsed due to incessant rains, leaving one person injured. The tin roof of a house in the area was blown away in strong winds, an official said.
Dr Manorama Mohanty, the director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre, said: “The landfall of the severe cyclonic storm Montha has started about 7pm and the process will continue for three to four hours.”
During the landfall, the wind speed was 80 to 90kmph with gusting up to 110kmph, Mohanty said.
Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed the state’s preparation for the possible impact of the calamity that has already affected normal life across 15 districts in the coastal and southern regions of the state.
He said that over 2,000 cyclone shelters were set up to shelter the affected people and the government has set a “zero casualty” goal.
Majhi said 153 rescue teams (over 6,000 personnel) comprising personnel of NDRF, ODRAF, and fire service are positioned at vulnerable places across the eight southern districts and responding to the situations.
The administration has already announced the closure of schools and Anganwadi centres in nine districts till October 30, while East Coast Railway has announced cancellation, diversion and short termination of some trains operating in the Waltair region.
A report from Puri said that a lifeguard was injured after he was allegedly assaulted by tourists at the beach on Tuesday when he prevented them from splashing about in the sea. The tourist’s wife allegedly attacked the lifeguard with slippers for stopping them from entering the sea, police said.
As the sea conditions remain rough to very rough, the state government has advised fishermen not to venture into the Bay of Bengal, along and off the Odisha coast, till October 29.