Odisha on Alert as Cyclone Montha Set to Intensify Over Bay of Bengal

Bhubaneswar: With Cyclone Montha forming over the Bay of Bengal and expected to intensify in the coming days, the Odisha government has heightened preparedness across coastal districts.

The Balasore district administration has cancelled all government employees’ leaves, while the Ganjam District Magistrate has directed officials to remain stationed at their headquarters until further orders.

In an official order issued on Saturday, the Balasore Collector stated, “All government officials are required to stay in their respective headquarters and shall not leave without prior permission of the Collector and District Magistrate.” The order further mentioned that all sanctioned leaves stand cancelled, and employees currently on leave must resume duty immediately. Any violation of the directive will be dealt with under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Similarly, the Ganjam Collector has instructed all officials not to leave headquarters between October 25 and 30, following the orange warning issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for heavy rainfall and strong winds due to the approaching cyclonic storm.

“This measure is to ensure immediate response and effective coordination in case of any emergency arising out of adverse weather conditions,” the order stated. Leaves may be granted only under special circumstances with prior written approval from the Collector.

Cyclone Montha Likely to Strengthen Further

According to the IMD’s latest update, the depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal moved westward at a speed of 7 kmph in the past three hours and was centred at 8:30 am on October 25, 2025, near latitude 10.8°N and longitude 88.8°E.

The system is currently positioned about 440 km west-southwest of Port Blair, 970 km southeast of Visakhapatnam, 970 km east-southeast of Chennai, 990 km southeast of Kakinada, and 1,040 km south-southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha).

It is expected to intensify into a deep depression by October 26 and further into a cyclonic storm over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal by the morning of October 27. The IMD forecasts that the system will strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm by October 28 morning.

Continuing to move north-northwestwards, Cyclone Montha is likely to make landfall between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam — near Kakinada — on the evening or night of October 28, with wind speeds reaching 90–100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.

Authorities have urged district administrations, disaster response teams, and local bodies to remain on high alert and ensure round-the-clock preparedness to tackle any possible emergency arising from the approaching storm.