Andhra Pradesh revises Cyclone Montha damage to Rs 6,384 cr, seeks urgent aid of Rs 900 cr

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday revised the estimate of damage caused by Cyclone Montha to Rs 6,384 crore and sought an immediate relief of Rs 900 crore after a central team visited the state to assess the loss.

An eight-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) led by Pasumi Basu, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, and K Ponnuswamy, Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, visited the state today.

The state earlier pegged the preliminary loss at Rs 5,265 crore.

"The total estimated loss stands at Rs 6,384 crore, and the state has sought immediate interim assistance of Rs 901.4 crore from the Centre," said an official release.

The southern state has appealed to the central team to extend generous support, stating that Cyclone Montha caused extensive damage far beyond initial expectations.

In a detailed presentation to the central team, officials informed that agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, irrigation, housing, and infrastructure suffered heavy damage across 24 districts.

Crops like paddy, cotton, maize, and green gram spread over 1.61 lakh acres were affected, while horticulture crops across 6,250 hectares were damaged, the officials briefed the team.

Fish ponds over 3,000 hectares were destroyed, and nearly 4,500 houses and around 1,800 schools were damaged, the release said, adding that roads stretching 5,000 km and 311 bridges and culverts under the roads and buildings department also suffered damage.

In the irrigation sector, 3,437 minor and 2,417 major and medium structures were impacted, while 58 urban local bodies reported extensive losses due to heavy rainfall and flooding.

Officials emphasised that the state requires urgent financial support to undertake repair works and assist families affected by the disaster.

Between October 27 and 29, the state recorded 82.3 mm of rainfall, nine times higher than the seasonal average, while the cyclone affected 443 mandals, resulting in three deaths, submergence of 9,960 houses, and displacement of over 1.11 lakh people.