A powerful cyclone named “Motha” struck India’s Andhra Pradesh coast, leaving one person dead so far. As the storm had little impact on Bangladesh, the Meteorological Department has advised lowering the warning signals at Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla, and Payra seaports.
The cyclone made landfall on Tuesday around 2:30 a.m., packing winds of up to 110 kilometers per hour, and lashed the northwestern coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh. The storm uprooted numerous trees and damaged several houses. Neighboring Odisha state also suffered disruptions across 15 districts.
According to NDTV, an elderly woman died in Konaseema district after a tree collapsed on her house. In the same district, a coconut tree fell and injured a teenager and an autorickshaw driver.
India’s Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Cyclone Motha crossed the coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, making landfall near Kakinada on Tuesday evening. The most affected areas include Kakinada, Krishna, Eluru, East and West Godavari, Konaseema, and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts.
To ensure safety, the state government suspended all vehicular movement in seven districts from Tuesday night until Wednesday morning. Authorities deployed 1,447 earthmovers, 321 drones, and 1,040 chainsaws to remove fallen trees and clear roads, while residents of low-lying areas were moved to shelters.
As a precaution, all IndiGo and Air India Express flights from Visakhapatnam Airport were canceled, and at least 65 trains were suspended across Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The cyclone brought heavy rainfall — between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, 12.6 centimeters of rain was recorded in Nellore district’s Ulavapadu area.
Cyclone Motha formed from a low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal on October 24, gradually intensifying into a depression, deep depression, and eventually a severe cyclonic storm by Sunday night. The name “Motha,” given by Thailand, means “beautiful flower.”
In Bangladesh, the storm caused no significant damage, except for light to moderate rain in some districts. On Wednesday morning, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department announced that the cyclone was weakening after crossing the Indian coast.
However, authorities advised fishing boats and trawlers in the northern Bay of Bengal to navigate cautiously and avoid deep-sea ventures until Wednesday evening.