Cyclone Montha batters many states, schools shut, travel disrupted

October 29, 2025 Hot from the Oven Valli Sarvani

Cyclone Montha has brought severe weather conditions across Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and parts of Tamil Nadu.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed that the landfall process began on Tuesday evening and continued for several hours, causing widespread disruption.

Schools and colleges in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have been closed till October 29, while in some districts, the shutdown extends to October 31.

The closure affects Kakinada, East and West Godavari, Konaseema, and Eluru.

Authorities have advised citizens to stay indoors as wind speeds reached 90 kmph near Machilipatnam during landfall.

In Odisha, eight southern districts, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, and Nabarangpur, remain under the Red Zone alert.

Gajapati district administration has ordered schools, colleges, and anganwadi centres to remain closed until October 30.

Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district also experienced heavy rain, forcing temporary school closures.

The IMD reported that Cyclone Montha weakened into a cyclonic storm by 2:30 a.m. on October 29, but strong winds and intense rainfall continue to affect coastal regions.

As a precaution, over 65 passenger and express trains have been cancelled in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Services through Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Kakinada, and Visakhapatnam remain suspended. The East Coast Railway also stopped several trains along the Odisha-Andhra corridor.

Air traffic has been hit as well. All IndiGo and Air India Express flights at Visakhapatnam Airport were cancelled on October 28.

Passengers have been urged to verify flight schedules before travelling.

IMD has downgraded red alerts in some districts, replacing them with orange alerts for Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Krishna, Guntur, and nearby areas.

However, the department continues to warn of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, South Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.

Officials have deployed disaster response teams and are monitoring flood-prone zones closely.

Relief measures, including the distribution of essential supplies and financial assistance for affected families, are underway as states brace for continued rainfall.

Image from Pxhere (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)

Image Published on March 15, 2017