Amaravati, Oct. 28 -- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for coastal Andhra Pradesh as the Severe Cyclonic Storm Montha continues to intensify over the west-central Bay of Bengal.
According to a special IMD bulletin issued at 1400 hours on Tuesday, the cyclone, moving north-northwest at a speed of 12 kmph, is expected to cross the Andhra coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, late this evening or night.
At 1130 hours today, the system was located about 120 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam, 200 km south-southeast of Kakinada, 290 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam, and 510 km south-southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha).
The cyclone is likely to make landfall as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with...