Cyclone Montha leaves 3 dead, damages crops over 1.50 lakh acres in Andhra

Cyclone Montha left three persons dead, damaged standing crops over 1.50 lakh acres, and disrupted power and transportation in Andhra Pradesh, where it made landfall around 7.30 pm on Tuesday (October 28).

Neighbouring Telangana also received heavy rains.

The Andhra Pradesh government said the loss was minimised due to the precautionary measures put in place.

Three dead; livestock perish

During a review meeting on the cyclone at the Real Time Governance System (RTGS) at the secretariat, officials informed Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu that three persons died during the natural calamity.

The chief minister directed the officials “to extend a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to their families,” said an official press release.

Also read: Cyclone Montha: Heavy rain lashes AP, Telangana; landslide in Odisha

Besides three human deaths, 42 livestock also died during the cyclone.

CM’s aerial survey

Montha, which means a fragrant flower in Thai, crossed Andhra Pradesh coast around Antarvedi village in Konaseema district, near Narasapur in West Godavari district in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Following its landfall, Montha weakened into a deep depression over coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Telangana. It is likely to move north to northwest towards south Chhattisgarh and further weaken into a depression, the Met office said.

Naidu undertook an aerial survey of the cyclone-affected areas, which included Bapatla, Palnadu, Krishna, Konaseema and Eluru districts.

Naidu visits camps

As part of his tour, he visited a relief camp at Odalarevu village of Allavaram mandal in Konaseema district, where he distributed essential supplies to evacuees, which included 25 kg rice and other items and an amount of Rs 3,000 cash per family.

“Whatever, extensive damage occurred because of this (cyclone). This is a major calamity to the state. However, we managed to save a bit. We brought 1.8 lakh people into relief camps. I came to see how the camps are,” he said.

Also read: Andhra, Odisha breathe easy as Montha weakens without much damage

“We turned off power in emergency situations and revived immediately,” said the CM, adding that except for four sub-stations, all others received power.

Crops suffer damage

According to the CM, paddy and horticultural crops suffered damage.

“There was extreme rain in some districts—Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla district and Parchur areas. I saw in my aerial survey, these places were flooded,” he added.

Earlier, Naidu asked he entire government machinery to continue their efforts for another two days to give more relief to the cyclone-affected people.

He directed officials to estimate the damage caused by the cyclone across various departments so that it could be furnished to the Union government.

Citing preliminary estimates, the government had noted on Tuesday that standing agricultural crops on as many as 38,000 hectares were destroyed due to the impact of Montha and horticulture crops in 1.38 lakh hectares were damaged too.

Also read: Study reveals sharp increase in number of people affected by tropical cyclones since 2002

Agriculture Minister K Atchannaidu on Wednesday said although the intensity of Montha had reduced after landfall, power and transportation disruptions persisted in several affected districts.

Restoration continues

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams continued restoration work.

Fallen trees were cleared on the Nizampatnam Repalle road, Machilipatnam Manginapudi road, and Anakapalli and Machilipatnam regions.

G Sai Prasad, special chief secretary, disaster management, said the CM reviewed the rain and flood situation and directed officials to distribute essential commodities.

The government will distribute 25 kg rice and red gram dal, cooking oil, onions, potatoes and sugar, one kg each. For weavers and fishermen, double the quantity of rice will be distributed.

Rain in Telangana

Parts of the neighbouring Telangana received heavy rain as well on Wednesday under the impact of Cyclone Montha. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed the entire state administration to remain on high alert following heavy rains.

Also read: Top ecologist suggests 4 ways to minimise damage caused by cyclones

Reviewing the cyclone’s impact, particularly on paddy harvesting, he instructed the authorities to take necessary precautions to minimise losses, an official release said.

He ordered special arrangements at paddy and cotton procurement centres.

The Golconda Express and Konark Express were halted at Dornakal Junction in Mahabubabad district and Gundratimadugu station, respectively, while several other trains were diverted by the Railway authorities. Reddy suggested that alternative arrangements be made for the stranded passengers.

(With agency inputs)