VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government has sought immediate financial assistance from the Centre to tackle the extensive destruction caused by Cyclone Montha, which left a trail of devastation across 24 districts. The total damage has been estimated at `6,384 crore, and the State has requested an interim relief package of `901.4 crore to support rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
An eight-member Central team, led by Pasumibasu, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Dr K Ponnuswamy, Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, arrived in Amaravati to assess the cyclone’s impact. The delegation was briefed at the Real-Time Governance Society (RTGS) office, where Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) G Jayalakshmi and RTGS CEO and Disaster Management Authority Managing Director Prakhar Jain made a detailed presentation.
According to officials, agriculture, infrastructure, housing, education, and urban services suffered severe damage. Over 1.61 lakh acres of crops, mainly paddy, cotton, green gram, and maize, were destroyed, while horticultural crops across 6,250 hectares and mulberry plantations on 17.72 hectares were affected. The fisheries sector reported losses over 3,063 hectares of fish ponds.
Infrastructure damage was widespread: 4,794 km of roads and 311 bridges and culverts under the Roads and Buildings Department were damaged. The Irrigation Department reported harm to 3,437 minor and 2,417 major and medium irrigation structures. Additionally, 4,566 houses and 1,853 schools were damaged, and 58 urban local bodies reported severe disruptions due to torrential rainfall.
Officials highlighted that timely Central assistance was crucial to speed up restoration, particularly for vulnerable families and vital infrastructure. They credited proactive disaster preparedness for minimising casualties. Between October 27 and 29, the state received 82.3 mm of rainfall, nine times the seasonal average, impacting 443 mandals, submerging 9,960 houses, displacing 1,11,402 people, and claiming three lives.
Relief operations were swiftly launched with 12 NDRF teams, 13 SDRF teams, 1,702 vehicles, and 110 trained swimmers. The government established 2,471 rehabilitation centres in 22 districts, providing shelter to 1,92,441 displaced individuals. Notably, 680 drones were deployed for real-time flood monitoring, rescue coordination, and damage assessment, one of the largest such operations nationwide.
Central team inspects cyclone damage in Prakasam
A four-member Central team visited Prakasam district on Monday to assess the extensive damage caused by the recent severe Cyclone Montha to various sectors, including agriculture, aquaculture, horticulture, and infrastructure. The team, comprising Pausumi Basu, Joint Secretary (MHA), Mahesh Kumar, Deputy Director (Finance Ministry), Sasank Sekhar Rai, Executive Engineer (MoRTH), and Sai Bhagirath, Scientist-E (ISRO), was accompanied by State Disaster Management Authority MD Prakhar Jain.
The team met District Collector P Raja Babu, Joint Collector R Gopala Krishna, and other officials at the Collectorate, where they reviewed cyclone damage reports and photographs before proceeding to field inspections in Kothapatnam, Naguluppalapadu, and Ongole rural mandals.
Collector Raja briefed that the cyclone devastated vast stretches of cropland, leaving several areas inundated. Sectors like roads, irrigation, animal husbandry, and electricity suffered major losses. During visits to Alluru and Koppolu, Ongole MLA Damacharla Janardhan Rao and OUDA Chairman Shaik Riyaz explained the severe damage to prawn and fish ponds.
According to the Collector, crops over 12,750 hectares were damaged, including cotton (8,313 ha), paddy (1,557 ha), maize (1,260 ha), bajra (1,388 ha), black gram (26 ha), groundnut (17 ha) and red gram (89 ha). The team assured that a comprehensive report would soon be submitted to the Centre for necessary relief measures.