VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh’s coast has been hit by as many as 60 cyclones in the last five decades and of them nearly 40 are severe and very severe. Cyclone Mandous is the last severe cyclone to have hit Andhra Pradesh in 2022.
According to the data with the State Planning Department, a severe cyclonic storm hit Andhra Pradesh coast near Srikakulam on September 10, 1971, and in the same month (September 22), another severe cyclonic storm made a landfall at Gopalpur in Odisha, but North Costal Andhra districts were severely affected.
On September 10, 1972, a severe cyclonic storm made a landfall at Baruva in Srikakulam, resulting in devastation. On November 22, 1972, a severe cyclone made a landfall near Sriharikota in Nellore district. After a gap of four years, a severe cyclone made a landfall at Machilipatnam on November 4, 1976. In 1977, Andhra coast witnessed two cyclones -- one that crossed Nellore on October 31 and the second that hit Diviseema in Krishna district on November 19.
Infamous as Diviseema Cyclone, it caused large scale devastation in the State from Srikakualm to Guntur. Two years later, another severe cyclone with same devastating intensity struck Andhra coast between Ongole and Bapatla on May 12, 1979. In the same year, another cyclone crossed the coast near Sriharikota, affecting the entire coastline.
From 1980 to 2000, the cyclonic storms struck the AP coast regularly. In 1999, Andhra coast was hit by two severe cyclones, one of them was infamous as the 1999 Odisha cyclone.
From 2000 to 2005, six cyclones hit the coastline of the State. On October 30, 2006, Cyclone Ogni crossed between Ongole and Machilipatnam. It was the first one to hit the coast, after start of naming cyclones. On November 16, 2008, Cyclone Khaimuk struck the coast near Kavali.
Cyclone Laila and Cyclone Jal in 2010, caused much damage in Andhra Pradesh. Cyclone Nilam in 2012 too affected the State. However, it was Hudhud Cyclone in October 2014, that left a trail of devastation in North Coastal districts of the state, particularly Visakhapatnam.
Once again, the State suffered much in the form of severe Cyclone Titli, which crossed the coast near Palasa in Srikakulam on October 11, 2018. From 2019 to 2022, Cyclone Fani, Cyclone Asani, Cyclone Gulab, Cyclone Nivar and Cyclone Mandous had brought trouble to Andhra coast.