New Delhi

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday directed railways to take precautionary measures in anticipation of Cyclone Montha's impact on the East Coast, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana.

Vaishnaw has directed all officials of East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South-Central Railway (SCR) zones to remain on high alert and to take proactive steps for the quick restoration of train services following the impact of severe cyclonic storm Montha', which is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada.

The Railway Minister reviewed ongoing measures for passenger safety, train regulation, restoration planning, and coordination with local administrations and disaster management authorities.

Among the key actions that the Union Minister has directed are the activation of divisional war rooms and the readying of essential materials, machinery, and manpower, especially in the Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Guntur divisions.

Vaishnaw directed that monitoring of train operations be intensified to minimise passenger inconvenience. He directed officials to mobilise resources for emergency response and take necessary precautions.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the impact of Cyclone Montha on the state from the Real-Time Governance System (RTGS) RTGS control room.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Ministers Nara Lokesh, V. Anitha, and P Narayana, Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad (CS), and officials from various departments participated in the review meeting.

As per an update by the IMD, the Severe Cyclonic Storm Montha over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 10 kmph and lay centered at 1.30 pm today over the same region about 100 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 180 km south-southeast of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), 270 km south-southwest of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 500 km south-southwest of Gopalpur (Odisha).

The weather department said that the Severe Cyclonic Storm with wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph It will continue to move north-northwestwards and cross Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam around Kakinada during the evening and night of October 28 as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph.

In view of Cyclone Montha, forming over the central Bay of Bengal, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has pre-deployed 25 teams across the likely-affected coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Puducherry. A total of 20 additional teams are kept on standby at strategic locations for immediate deployment, if required. Each team is equipped with boats, cutting equipment, communication eqpt, and other specialised rescue tools to carry out evacuation, relief, and restoration operations.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, in the presence of Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management Suresh Pujari, chaired a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar today to assess the state's preparedness for the impending cyclone Montha.

Odisha Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, SRC D. K. Singh, DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, Fire Services DG Sudhanshu Sarangi, IMD Director Manorama Mohanty, and senior officials from concerned departments were also present.

READ MORE: Tariq Alam's school in Kapali has changed the destiny of workers' children

District Collectors from cyclone-vulnerable areas also joined the preparedness review meeting virtually.