Cyclone Montha's Devastation: Rs 6,384 Crore Damage Shakes Andhra Pradesh

The state government told the Central team, which arrived in the state to assess the damage, that the cyclone Montha caused extensive damage far beyond initial expectations across the state.

An eight-member Central Team, led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Pasumi Basu, and Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Dr K. Ponnuswamy, arrived in the state to assess the damage caused by the cyclone.

The team first visited the Secretariat in Amaravati on Monday and was received by officials at the RTGS office.

A detailed PowerPoint presentation on the extent of damage was made by Special Chief Secretary, Revenue, G. Jayalakshmi, and RTGS CEO and AP State Disaster Management Authority, Prakhar Jain. The officials informed that the cyclone caused widespread destruction in 24 districts, resulting in significant losses across multiple sectors.

In the agriculture sector, crops ready for harvest were inundated, severely affecting farmers’ livelihoods. Standing crops such as paddy, cotton, green gram, and maize over 1.61 lakh acres were damaged. Horticultural crops over 6,250 hectares and mulberry plantations covering 17.72 hectares were also affected, they said.

In the fisheries sector, fish ponds spread over 3,063 hectares were destroyed. The cyclone also damaged 4,566 houses and 1,853 schools.

Under the Roads and Buildings Department, 4,794 km of roads and 311 bridges and culverts were damaged. The Irrigation Department reported damage to 3,437 minor and 2,417 major and medium irrigation structures. In addition, 58 urban local bodies were severely affected due to heavy rains.

Officials requested that the Centre extend immediate assistance of Rs 901.4 crore, emphasising that Central support is crucial for rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts to help affected families recover from this severe disaster.

Officials highlighted that due to advance planning and effective disaster preparedness, a major loss of human life was averted. Relief operations were taken up on a war footing.

Learning from past flood experiences, the state government leveraged technology to enhance response mechanisms.

The officials told the Central team that 680 drones were deployed for real-time flood monitoring, search and rescue coordination, and damage assessment, marking one of the largest such deployments in the country.

Between October 27 and 29, the state recorded 82.3 mm of rainfall, which is nine times higher than the normal average. The cyclone affected 443 mandals, resulting in three deaths, submergence of 9,960 houses, and displacement of 1,11,402 persons, the Central team was told.

For rescue and relief operations, the government deployed 12 NDRF teams, 13 SDRF teams, 1,702 vehicles, and 110 trained swimmers. A total of 2,471 rehabilitation centres were established across 22 districts, providing shelter to 1,92,441 displaced persons.

- IANS