Kolkata, Oct 30 (IANS) The Met Office on Thursday issued a red alert for heavy rain in several districts of north Bengal on Friday, following the weakening of Cyclone Montha into a low-pressure area after making landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast.

According to a Met Department official, though the cyclone has lost much of its intensity, its remnants are still influencing weather conditions across eastern India.

“Cyclone Montha has moved north-northwest from south Chhattisgarh as a depression and turned into a distinct low-pressure area over East Vidarbha adjoining south Chhattisgarh. It will move further northwards in the next 24 hours, gradually weakening into a general low-pressure system,” the official said.

Under its influence, heavy to very heavy rain is likely in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts on Friday, for which a red alert has been issued. Very heavy rainfall is expected in parts of Jalpaiguri, while Cooch Behar and North Dinajpur districts are under an orange alert, the Met Department said.

South Dinajpur and Malda districts are also expected to receive heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms. The intensity of rainfall is likely to decrease from Saturday, with heavy rain limited to a few areas in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar. Scattered showers with thunderstorms, however, may continue across north Bengal till Sunday, before the weather turns dry from Monday.

In south Bengal, Birbhum and Murshidabad may witness scattered heavy rain on Friday, while other districts could experience light to moderate rain with thundershowers. Rain is expected in North and South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore and parts of Nadia on Saturday. The Met Office said there is no likelihood of rainfall in south Bengal after Sunday.

Earlier, heavy rainfall caused flooding in several districts of north Bengal, disrupting normal life and communication links. Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar have been the worst affected, with rivers flowing above the danger mark.

Several low-lying areas and tea garden belts have been submerged, forcing hundreds of families to move to safer places. The administration had set up relief camps and launched rescue operations with the help of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local civic bodies.

–IANS

sch/pgh