Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced on Thursday that the state has suffered a preliminary estimated loss of ₹5,265 crore due to Cyclone Montha, which ravaged the region over the last two days. The damage encompasses crops, roads, and various public infrastructure.
Speaking after a high-level review meeting with state officials, CM Naidu detailed the severity of the damage across key sectors:
- Roads and Buildings (R&B): Incurred the highest loss at ₹2,079 crore.
- Agriculture Sector: Reported significant damage totaling ₹829 crore, with irrigation losses being comparatively lower this time.
The Chief Minister confirmed that a detailed damage report would be finalized soon and submitted to the Centre to seek necessary assistance.
Andhra Pradesh Credits Tech and Preparedness for Minimizing Impact
Despite the massive financial loss, CM Naidu lauded the administration’s proactive approach and technological integration for minimizing casualties and infrastructure downtime.
- Advance Planning: Naidu stated, “We had anticipated the fury of Cyclone Montha well in advance, which helped us reduce the damage considerably.”
- Rapid Restoration: The CM highlighted the drastic improvement in response time:
- Power Restoration: Where power restoration previously took nearly 10 hours after an outage, supply was restored within three hours this time.
- Road Clearance: Fallen trees and debris, which historically took four to seven days to clear, were removed immediately to prevent inconvenience, allowing road clearance and restoration work to begin promptly.
- Technology and Teamwork: Naidu credited the success to “wonderful teamwork” across departments, including the village secretariat staff, and the use of technology like geotagging every household to make real-time decisions based on the changing situation.
Principal Secretary (Agriculture) Buditi Rajasekhar specified that approximately 70% of the crop damage in Andhra Pradesh was concentrated in paddy crops, primarily across the Konaseema, Kakinada, and Nellore districts. He directed officials to quickly survey the damage, determine crop recovery possibilities based on the growth stage, and record the losses without delay.
Telangana Battles Continuing Floods
Meanwhile, neighboring Telangana continues to reel from heavy floods in the aftermath of Cyclone Montha, with districts including Warangal, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Nalgonda, and Khammam reporting extensive damage.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy held a video conference with officials, ordering them to execute relief measures on a “war footing.”
- Priority on Life and Property: Reddy’s main instructions were to prioritize shifting people from flood-prone areas, providing rehabilitation, and ensuring no loss of life and livestock.
- Crop Damages and Paddy Storage: Officials briefed the CM on the damage to paddy and cotton crops, with huge flood damages reported in the erstwhile Warangal and Nalgonda districts, and the Husnabad assembly constituency.
- Immediate Action on Procurement: The CM instructed collectors to make arrangements to immediately shift soaked paddy stocks at procurement centers to the nearest godowns and mills to prevent further loss.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is scheduled to conduct an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of Warangal and Husnabad on Friday morning to personally inspect the damage.