Heavy rains lashed eight southern districts of Odisha as ‘Montha’ intensified into a severe cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red alerts for several districts along the coasts of Andhra and Odisha in view of the cyclone, scheduled to make landfall in the evening of October 28. The warning brought back grim memories of the 1999 Cyclone Paradip, which claimed nearly 10,000 lives.

Cyclone Montha preparations

Keeping the IMD warning in mind, over 1,400 cyclone shelters have been built in eight districts, with sufficient food and other arrangements, local administrations said, adding that pregnant women had been shifted to hospitals in safe areas.

The Odisha government evacuated people from low-lying areas and hilly terra

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