HYDERABAD: India moved 50,000 people to relief camps on Monday as it began evacuations a day before Cyclone Montha, intensifying over the Bay of Bengal, is set to bring strong winds and heavy rains to its east coast, officials said.
Authorities canceled holidays for emergency staff and ordered schools and colleges to close in coastal areas of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and the eastern state of Odisha forecast to be hit by the harsh weather.
The cyclone is likely to turn into a severe storm by Tuesday, before crossing the coast of Andhra Pradesh later in the day, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
“Evacuation of people from near the coast in Kakinada district has already started,” a disaster management official in Andhra Pradesh told Reuters.
Nearly 50,000 people have been moved to relief camps, a government report showed.
Disaster teams have fanned out to move families from low-lying areas in Andhra Pradesh, where the government expects 3.9 million people to be affected.
Fishermen in the neighboring state of Odisha were warned to avoid venturing to sea.
Cyclones frequently hit India’s east coast between April and December. A super cyclone that killed nearly 10,000 when it hit Odisha in October 1999 remains one of the country’s deadliest natural disasters.
Authorities in the southern state of Tamil Nadu have urged people to keep alert following forecasts for heavy to very heavy rain in some districts.
Chennai, the state capital, is prone to flooding during intense rains, such as those brought by Cyclone Michaung in 2023.
In the Himalayan nation of Nepal, disaster authorities have warned of possible rain and snowfall from Tuesday through Friday and advised trekkers to keep alert.
Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains across Nepal killed 53 people this month.
India evacuates tens of thousands as cyclone Montha gains strength
https://arab.news/8z736
India evacuates tens of thousands as cyclone Montha gains strength
- Cyclone likely to turn into a severe storm by Tuesday, before crossing the coast of Andhra Pradesh later in the day
- Disaster teams have fanned out to move families from low-lying areas in Andhra Pradesh
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
