Broken roads, damaged houses, destroyed crops: Cyclone Montha leaves Andhra with Rs 5,244 crore losses

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the loss was inevitable despite the government’s successful efforts to prevent casualties. He credited technology-driven real-time monitoring and best practices for ensuring people’s safety.

In his report, Vijayanand said 4,794 km of roads, along with 311 culverts and bridges, were damaged, causing losses of Rs 2,794 crore. Another 862 km of panchayat raj roads and related infrastructure suffered losses of Rs 454 crore. Damage to urban infrastructure was pegged at Rs 109 crore.

In the agriculture sector, crops over 1.38 lakh hectares were damaged, affecting 1.74 lakh farmers and causing losses of Rs 829 crore. Horticulture crops in 12,215 hectares, valued at Rs 40 crore, were lost, impacting 23,979 farmers. The aqua sector suffered losses of Rs 514 crore, and 2,261 animals perished.

The power sector reported losses of Rs 19 crore due to the collapse of 2,817 electric poles and snapped power lines. Losses in irrigation were estimated at Rs 234 crore, while 3,045 houses were damaged across 23 districts. The health sector recorded losses of Rs 122 crore due to damage to anganwadis, primary health centres and community health centres.

Vijayanand said 1,36,907 people were housed in 1,464 relief camps, and Rs 32 crore had been spent on relief and rehabilitation. Naidu said 602 drones were deployed to monitor rising water levels through the Mana Mitra app, which also sent 1.1 crore alert messages to people in vulnerable areas.

He added that paddy fields in several districts remained waterlogged and that a detailed report on crop losses would be sent to the Centre. Ninety per cent of the state’s reservoirs were now full, and groundwater levels had improved in several mandals.

Naidu said the handling of Cyclone Montha should be treated as a case study. The state has sought satellite images to identify submerged fields so water can be drained quickly and compensation determined. Naidu is scheduled to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to brief him on the damage and seek Central assistance.