Cyclone Montha Update: Weakens to Cyclonic Storm After Andhra Landfall; Heavy Rain Alert Continues

Severe Cyclonic Storm Montha made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast near Narsapur between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam during midnight of October 28-29, 2025, bringing torrential rain and wind speeds of 90-100 km/h gusting to 110 km/h. The India Meteorological Department confirmed that the landfall process lasted approximately five hours, starting around 7:30 PM on Tuesday and completing by 12:30 AM Wednesday. The system has now weakened into a cyclonic storm and continues to move northwestwards across coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Where is Cyclone Montha Now?

As of 2:30 AM IST on October 29, the cyclonic storm Montha was positioned approximately 20 km west-northwest of Narsapur, 50 km northeast of Machilipatnam, 90 km west-southwest of Kakinada, 230 km southwest of Visakhapatnam, and 470 km southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha. The system moved northwestwards at 10 km/h over the past six hours and weakened from a severe cyclonic storm to a cyclonic storm.​

IMD Weather Forecast and Rainfall Alert

The IMD confirms the cyclone will maintain its cyclonic storm intensity for the next six hours before weakening further into a deep depression during the subsequent six hours. Heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy downpours exceeding 20 cm is forecast for Odisha on October 29, with red alerts issued for Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi, and Nabarangpur. Orange alerts cover four additional Odisha districts.​

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over Bihar, Jharkhand, East Madhya Pradesh, East Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, Telangana, and Saurashtra-Kutch on October 29-30. Light to moderate rainfall will continue across most parts of Andhra Pradesh and Yanam till October 29, with heavy rainfall at isolated places over north coastal Andhra Pradesh on October 30.

Cyclone Montha Impact and Damage

One woman died in Konaseema district when a palmyra tree fell on her due to strong gales. Standing crops in 38,000 hectares and horticulture crops in 1.38 lakh hectares were destroyed across Andhra Pradesh. Heavy rain with gales lashed Vijayawada on Wednesday morning, uprooting numerous trees and inundating roads. Power disruptions were reported across multiple coastal districts.​

Over 11,000 people were evacuated in Odisha as a precautionary measure, with Chief Minister Mohan Majhi reiterating the state's full preparedness for zero casualties. Schools remained closed on October 29 in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana due to continuing heavy rainfall.