Cyclone Montha Causes ₹5,265-Crore Damage in Andhra Pradesh, Says CM Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that the recent Cyclone Montha has caused massive damage worth ₹5,265 crore across multiple sectors in the state. Speaking to the media at the Secretariat in Amaravati, the CM shared detailed estimates from various departments. The Roads and Buildings Department faced the highest loss at ₹2,079 crore, followed by Agriculture (₹829 crore), Horticulture (₹40 crore), and Sericulture (₹65 lakh).

The Fisheries sector was among the hardest hit, suffering damages worth ₹1,270 crore. Other departments affected include:

Municipal Administration: ₹109 crore

Water Resources: ₹207 crore

Rural Water Supply: ₹1.2 crore

Panchayat Raj: ₹9 crore

Women & Child Welfare: ₹1.52 crore

Chandrababu Naidu said that several stretches of R&B roads were eroded, leading to severe potholes. He added that a detailed damage report will be submitted to the Central Government, and it will be updated as new data comes in. The CM also highlighted that over the past 16 months, the state government has adopted advanced data-driven technology, integrating information such as geo-tagged houses and Aadhaar-authenticated families to improve disaster response and damage assessment.

Interestingly, while Cyclone Montha was expected to make landfall near Kakinada, it eventually crossed the coast near Antarvedi in Konaseema district, causing heavier rainfall in Nellore, Bapatla, and Prakasam districts. Due to continuous rainfall, major reservoirs across the state are now filled up to 90% of their capacity, holding around 98.5 TMC of water, Naidu added.