Cyclone Montha makes landfall; Andhra, Odisha bore the brunt
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Amaravati/Bhubaneswar (PTI): Severe Cyclonic storm Montha on Tuesday crossed the coast off Andhra Pradesh, causing disruptions in the southern state, while the impact was also felt in neighbouring Odisha, where normal life was affected in 15 districts.
The landfall process started around 7 pm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, adding that the weather system in the Bay of Bengal will cross Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada.
It will cross with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90 to 100 kmph and gusting up to 110 kmph.
Under the influence of the severe cyclonic storm Montha, which means a fragrant flower in Thai, Nellore district in Andhra recorded the highest amount of rainfall on Tuesday.
A woman died at Makanagudem village in Konaseema district as an uprooted palmyra tree fell on her due to gales, a police official told PTI.
Due to the impact of the cyclone, standing crops in as many as 38,000 hectares in Andhra Pradesh were destroyed and also horticulture crops in 1.38 lakh hectares.
Nearly 76,000 people were shifted to relief camps while the government arranged 219 medical camps at various places. It also arranged 865 tonnes of animal fodder keeping the cyclone in view.
The government has decided to suspend the movement of vehicles on roads in the cyclone-affected districts, including Krishna, Eluru and Kakinada from 8:30 pm tonight to 6 am on Wednesday. Emergency medical services will be exempted.
Indian Railways cancelled, diverted and rescheduled multiple coaching trains across the Waltair Division of East Coast
Railway Zone on Tuesday. Similarly, the South Central Railway (SCR) Zone cancelled 120 trains in total on Monday and Tuesday, said an official.
All 32 flight operating out of Visakhapatnam Airport were cancelled on Tuesday owing to the severe cyclonic storm Montha.
Likewise, the Vijayawada Airport cancelled 16 flights, but managed to operate five flights.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said 3,778 villages were forecast to receive heavy rains.
Trees which collapsed due to Montha cyclone were cleared in several districts, along with sanitation work and efforts to ease rain water flow.
In Odisha, Montha brought heavy rain in coastal and southern districts, causing landslides and damaging houses besides uprooting trees, officials said.
The preliminary reports of damages were received from eight southern Odisha districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur.
Normal life, however, was affected in a total of 15 districts in the region.
A report from Anaka Gram Panchayat in Gajapati district said big boulders fell from nearby hills, blocking roads to five villages.
"The place was earlier identified as landslide landslide-prone area. Therefore, arrangements have been made for early clearance of the blockade," said Balakrushna Mallick, a local panchayat functionary.
Trees were uprooted in Gunupur, Gudari and Ramnaguda areas of Rayagada district.
A report from Mohana in Gajapati district said a mud-walled house collapsed due to incessant rains, injuring one person. The tin roof of a house in the area was blown away in strong winds, an official said.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed the state's preparation for the possible impact of the storm.
He said that over 2,000 cyclone shelters were set up to accommodate the affected people and the government has set the "Zero Casualty" goal.
The CM said 153 rescue teams (over 6,000 personnel) comprising personnel of NDRF, ODRAF, and Fire Service are positioned at vulnerable places across the eight southern districts and responding to the situations.
The administration has already announced the closure of schools and anganwadi centres in nine districts till October 30. The leave of government employees has also been cancelled till October 30.
The administration has also sealed all beaches to prevent tourists and local people from entering the shores, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) D K Singh said.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
