Cyclone Montha: CM Naidu orders drone surveillance in flooded regions for real-time updates

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to utilise drones in cyclone Montha-affected areas for continuous monitoring of the situation.

He said more attention should be paid to places where there is a possibility of flash floods with overflowing of streams. The Chief Minister conducted a review of the cyclone situation, along with Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

Rescue and relief operations

The officials informed the Chief Minister that there is a possibility of cyclone landfall near Kakinada, with the wind velocity being higher between the Kakinada and Machilipatnam coasts.

The Chief Minister advised the officials to shift the rescue and relief machinery as per requirement in cyclone-affected areas.

He said field-level information should be collected from village secretariats to take up relief measures. He said people of low-lying areas in West Godavari should be alerted as there is a possibility of Yerra Kaluva flood with incessant rains for the past two days.

Citizens updated about cyclone via phone alerts

The officials informed the Chief Minister that they sent cyclone alerts to the mobiles of 1.92 crore people.

They said essential commodities have been stored, and 2,703 generators are kept on ready. The officials said the police wireless system has been ready with 81 towers for emergencies.

They said crops in 43,000 acres have been submerged in Konaseema, Prakasam, Nandyala, Kadapa and East Godavari districts. The Chief Minister directed the officials to provide a facility to upload information on crops by farmers.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan said officials should ensure transport facilities between villages by removing the uprooted trees and electric poles immediately. Minister Nara Lokesh informed the Chief Minister that he is monitoring the cyclone situation with district collectors and Superintendents of police.

Weather update

During the past six hours, the severe cyclonic storm Montha, over the west-central Bay of Bengal, has moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph.

It lies centred about 70 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 150 km south-southeast of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), 250 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 480 km south-southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha).

It will continue to move north-northwestwards and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada during the evening/night on October 28 as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph.

The system is currently being monitored continuously by Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam in addition to coastal observatories, automatic weather stations (AWSs), ships and buoys and satellites.