Odisha too braces for Cyclone Montha, red alert sounded in 8 districts

All schools and anganwadi centres in eight southern and interior districts of Odisha will remain closed until October 30 due to the heavy rainfall alert triggered by Cyclone Montha.

As the cyclone will cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada, the Odisha government has put eight districts, including Malakangiri, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal, on “red alert”.

These districts are expected to receive extremely heavy rainfall, while some pockets may also experience wind speeds up to 100 km per hour when the cyclone makes landfall.

Leaves of government employees here have been cancelled until October 30, while senior officers from the state have been sent to help local administrations tackle the situation