Disaster Management

Cyclone Montha: Understanding India’s Disaster Management Response

Author: VisionIAS Editorial Team

Oct 28, 2025Current Affairs8 min read

Cyclone Montha: Understanding India’s Disaster Management Response

IMD issues Nationwide Rainfall Alert as Cyclone Montha Nears Landfall on Andhra Pradesh bringing heavy to very heavy rains to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

As Cyclone Montha intensifies into a severe cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal, coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu brace for impact. Cyclone Montha originated as a low-pressure system over the west-central Bay of Bengal and rapidly intensified into a Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) by October 28, 2025.

The Meteorological Department has issued red alerts for multiple districts as authorities mobilize resources to achieve the “zero casualty” objective that has become the hallmark of India’s evolving disaster management framework.

Table of Contents

Understanding Cyclone Movement: Why Do They Move Towards Land?

A critical question often asked during cyclonic events is: why do cyclones inevitably move toward land, bringing destruction to coastal communities?

Tropical cyclones form over water and are carried by large-scale wind patterns that govern the atmosphere. Once formed over warm ocean waters, their movement depends entirely on the surrounding winds, much like a leaf swept along by a river.

In the tropical areas where cyclones develop (roughly between 5° and 20° north and south of the equator), the dominant winds are the trade winds, which blow from east to west as part of the global Hadley circulation.

These easterly trade winds push storms westward across oceans, which explains why tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal move toward India’s east coast. The same principle applies to Atlantic storms moving from the African coast toward the Caribbean and Americas, and Pacific cyclones heading toward Asia and Australia.

While cyclones draw their energy from warm ocean waters and can intensify as long as they remain offshore, the prevailing wind patterns give them little choice in direction. If global geography were reversed or if trade winds blew in the opposite direction, cyclones would be carried out over open water and rarely make landfall.

Comprehensive Government Response and Disaster Management

The response to Cyclone Montha demonstrates India’s integrated disaster management framework prioritizing life protection. The Cabinet Secretary convened the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) with coordination from the Union Home Secretary, MHA, NDMA, and IMD, targeting “zero casualties” and minimal infrastructure damage.

Proactive mass evacuation formed the cornerstone, with Andhra Pradesh establishing 3,174 rehabilitation centers across 22 districts and evacuating approximately 10,000 people from high-impact zones of Kakinada and Konaseema.

Strategic resource deployment included NDRF and SDRF teams positioned with emergency equipment across coastal zones. This comprehensive approach reflects India’s evolved disaster management capabilities combining centralized coordination, rapid evacuation infrastructure, and specialized attention to vulnerable populations.

The Odisha Model: Benchmark in Cyclone Resilience

The high state of preparedness observed in Odisha represents a fundamental two-decade-long policy overhaul that transformed disaster management from a reactive exercise into an institutionalized, proactive development priority.

Catalyst for Change

The catastrophic 1999 Super Cyclone, which claimed over 10,000 lives, exposed critical deficiencies in preparedness frameworks. Recognizing the need for institutionalized resilience, the Government of Odisha established the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) in late 1999, making it the first dedicated state-level disaster agency in India.

Core Components of Success

Integrated Early Warning Systems: Continuous investment in technology coupled with integrated approaches spanning all administrative levels ensures advance warnings are effectively translated for local action.
Resilient Infrastructure: The state invested heavily in physical resilience, constructing 824 multipurpose cyclone and flood shelters. These structures serve not only as secure refuges but also as adaptive resources—they were utilized as quarantine centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating adaptive governance capacity.
Specialized Response Capacity: The creation of ODRAF complements national NDRF capabilities and significantly augments the state’s rapid response capacity.
Community Empowerment: The most critical distinguishing element is emphasis on decentralization and community ownership through Community-Based Disaster Preparedness (CBDP) initiatives. Local governments, particularly Panchayati Raj institutions, are integrated into planning and response cycles.

Proven Track Record

The success of Odisha’s transformation is validated by major events: the effective evacuation of nearly 1 million people during Cyclone Phailin in 2013 and approximately 1.2 million people ahead of Cyclone Fani in 2019, demonstrating the maturity and reliability of the state’s mechanisms.

Looking Ahead

As Cyclone Montha approaches, several strategic imperatives emerge for enhancing long-term climate resilience:

Dynamic Vulnerability Mapping: Climate change is elevating baseline vulnerability through sea-level rise (estimated at 1.7 mm/year) and coastal erosion. Policy must shift toward proactive adaptation measures and dynamic vulnerability assessments.
Nature-Based Solutions: Investment in mangrove forests, coral reefs, and wetlands as vital buffers against storm surges must be prioritized. The Sundarbans, which could lose up to 80% of its area by 2100, highlights the urgency of ecological restoration.
Infrastructure Resilience: While “zero casualty” mandates focus on saving lives, long-term fiscal planning must address infrastructure resilience. Major allocations under disaster mitigation funds should be dedicated to upgrading power grids, communication infrastructure, and transport networks to withstand high-velocity winds and saline corrosion.
Policy Transfer: The Odisha model’s principles, particularly the OSDMA framework and CBDP methodology, should be formally studied and tailored for accelerated adoption by other vulnerable regions.

Conclusion

Cyclone Montha is an immediate threat that also offers an opportunity to showcase the resilience of India’s disaster management systems. The coordinated response from the cyclone warning issued by the Meteorological Department to the mass evacuations and public health preparedness reflects lessons learned from past disasters, particularly the transformative Odisha model.

The success of the response to Cyclone Montha will ultimately be measured not just by casualties avoided, but by how swiftly communities can resume normal life, a metric that demands sustained commitment to comprehensive, adaptive disaster resilience frameworks.