Cyclone Montha Landfall Begins: 90-110 kmph Winds to Hit Andhra Coast

In an X post, IMD wrote, "Latest observations indicate that the Landfall process has commenced. The landfall process will continue for the next 3-4 hours."

"It will continue to move north-northwestwards and cross Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada during the next 3-4 hours as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph," the meteorological department added.

Earlier at 6:30 pm, the severe cyclonic storm was about 110 km east of Machilipatnam and 100 km south of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.

IMD said, "The Severe Cyclonic Storm Montha over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 17 kmph during past six hours and lay centered at 1830 hrs IST of today, the October 28, 2025, over the same region, near latitude 16.05°N & longitude 82.25°E, about 110 km east of Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 100 km south of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), 220km southsouthwest of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 460km southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha)."

Meanwhile, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Commandant Gyaneshwar Singh said that 26 teams have been deployed in active ops, while 19 teams are in reserve.

Singh said, "NDRF has been on alert since the formation of Cyclone 'Montha,' and we are monitoring the bulletins issued by the IMD. As per the latest trends, the movement speed has slowed a bit. However, the current gusty winds are flowing at around 90 to 110 kmph, moving north-northwestwards, and are likely to strike the coast of Andhra Pradesh. Total, our 26 teams are deployed in active ops, and we have around 19 teams in reserve."

Of the 26, 12 NDRF teams have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh, and six in Odisha.

"Of those 26, a maximum of 12 teams are in Andhra Pradesh because that is the area where it is likely to have the most impact. 6 teams are deployed in Odisha and, as part of north Tamil Nadu, are also likely to be affected, so three teams are deployed there. Yesterday, we deployed some teams in Telangana and Chhattisgarh," the NDRF official said.

In the wake of Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) Montha, over 35 flights between Shamshabad in Telangana and Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Rajahmundry airports in Andhra Pradesh have been cancelled, GMR Airports said.

A total of 30 IndiGo, two Air India and five Air India Express flights have been cancelled as the SCS Month approaches the Andhra Pradesh coast around Kakinada.

- ANI