The Odisha Government on Sunday put all 30 districts on alert as the depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression and is slowly moving towards the east coast, officials said. Odisha will experience very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on October 28 and 29, they said.
The IMD has issued a red alert for five Odisha districts — Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam — and orange and yellow alerts for several other districts.
The weather office also hoisted Distant Cautionary Signal No-I (DC-1) at all ports of Odisha and advised fishermen not to venture into the sea till October 29.
An alert has been sounded across the Odisha coast from Ganjam to Balasore, with authorities urging fishermen and people to stay vigilant and not to venture into the sea as the conditions would be rough. Authorities are using loudspeakers and megaphones to alert fishermen who ventured into the sea, urging them to return to the shore immediately.
The administration is closely monitoring the situation to ensure the safe return of all fishing boats, officials said.
Odisha’s Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said all 30 districts in the state have been put on alert with men and machinery ready for rescue and relief operations.
The minister said District Collectors have been directed to evacuate people from low-lying areas due to impending heavy rainfall and places likely to be hit by surface wind.
Seven districts in the southern and coastal areas have cancelled the leave of government employees, keeping in view the urgency of the situation.
Gajapati District Collector Madhumita said relocation of pregnant women and vulnerable people has begun. The people living in vulnerable areas and kutcha houses are being evacuated to safe shelter, she said.
All Anganwadi centres and schools will remain closed till October 30, and two ODRAF teams have been deployed in the district, she said.
The Puri administration has imposed restrictions on the entry of tourists to the sea beaches on October 27, 28 and 29 in view of the impending cyclone.
The IMD said, “At 8.30 am this morning, the system was located about 620 km west of Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 780 km of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, 830 km of Visakhapatnam & Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and 930 km of Gopalpur in Odisha.”
“It is likely to move nearly west-northwestwards, intensify further into a cyclonic storm over southwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours,” the mid-day bulletin issued at 1 pm said.
The cyclone will further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by October 28 morning and is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, during the evening/night of October 28 with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph.
Andhra prepares action plan for relief
Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government has prepared an action plan for relief and essential supplies in pre-cyclone preparedness for Cyclone Montha. State Civil Supplies Minister N Manohar said the action plan covers stock positioning of Public Distribution System (PDS) commodities, fuel inventory management, paddy procurement steps, food supply to relief shelters and post-cyclone relief distribution.
“The Andhra Pradesh government has prepared an action taken report detailing the pre-cyclone preparedness measures for Cyclone Montha, ensuring readiness before landfall,” Manohar said in an official release late on Saturday. The supply of food grains to all fair price shops in coastal areas shall be completed by October 26 and sufficient stock is already placed at Mandal Level Stock Points, he said. According to officials, 40 per cent stock movement has been completed in coastal districts, and Global Positioning System (GPS) exemption has been granted for second-stage food grain movement based on requests from district collectors.
On fuel preparedness, Manohar instructed the state nodal officer and oil marketing companies to fully stock petrol, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) outlets in vulnerable districts.
District collectors were directed to coordinate with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to ensure diesel availability for power backup at telecom towers, control rooms, hospitals and cyclone shelters during disruptions. On paddy procurement, officials informed the minister that procurement is expected to start in full scale in the first week of November, but centres will be opened wherever farmers arrive with harvested paddy to provide immediate relief.
Nearly 1,500 mills have been tagged to Rythu Service Kendras (RSKs) in coastal districts, and millers have been asked to provide drying space and covers for wet paddy, and not to distress farmers over high moisture levels owing to adverse conditions.
Further, 50,000 tarpaulins with ropes, sandbags and plastic sheets have been kept ready at RSKs for crop protection on a need basis.
District Collectors have been authorised to draw essential commodities from MLSPs for food preparation in cyclone shelters and disaster camps, and expenditure can be adjusted under Treasury Rule (TR)-27.
For post-cyclone relief distribution, sufficient stock has been placed at Mandal Level Stock Points (MLSPs) for supply as per the scale set by the Disaster Management Department under the notified relief norms.
