IMD issues orange alert for three Maharashtra districts as moderate rain, thunderstorms expected
Orange alert issued for Dhule, Nandurbar, and Nashik with moderate rainfall and thunderstorms expected, as a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal strengthens into Cyclone Montha, prompting red alerts in Andhra Pradesh.
Mumbai/Bhubaneswar, Oct 27: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued an orange alert for three Maharashtra districts Dhule, Nandurbar, and Nashik warning of moderate rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching up to 50 kmph from Monday to Tuesday.
According to the IMD bulletin, Dhule district is expected to witness thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and moderate rainfall with wind speeds of 40–50 kmph between Sunday night and Monday morning, while light to moderate showers are likely to continue on Tuesday.
In Nandurbar, thunderstorms with lightning and winds up to 50 kmph are forecast between Monday morning and Tuesday evening, whereas Nashik may experience heavy rainfall at isolated places on Monday followed by moderate showers and thunderstorms till Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, the IMD reported that a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal is intensifying into Cyclone Montha, expected to bring widespread rainfall to parts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal over the next few days.
As of late Saturday night, the weather system was positioned near latitude 11.0°N and longitude 87.7°E, moving west-northwest at 8 kmph, and is likely to strengthen into a cyclonic storm by October 27, and a severe cyclonic storm by October 28.
In Andhra Pradesh, the government has rolled out an extensive pre-cyclone action plan for relief and essential supplies, including PDS stock positioning, fuel inventory management, paddy procurement, and arrangements for relief shelters.
“An action taken report detailing the preparedness measures has been implemented to ensure readiness before the landfall,” State Civil Supplies Minister N. Manohar said.
The IMD has also issued a red alert for several Andhra Pradesh districts Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam, and Nellore warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall between October 28 and 31.
In West Bengal, Cyclone Montha is expected to bring light to moderate rain from October 27, intensifying into heavy rainfall over South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Howrah, Jhargram, and Kolkata from October 28 to 31, according to the IMD bulletin issued late Sunday.
