Cyclone Montha wreaks havoc in coastal Andhra, two killed

Amaravati: Severe cyclone Montha, which crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of Wednesday, wreaked havoc, killing two people, damaging houses, crops, and electricity towers and disrupting vehicular traffic.

Strong winds uprooted trees and electricity poles, while heavy rains resulted in the lakes and streams overflowing.

Villages and residential areas in some towns in coastal districts were inundated. Roads were also flooded in a few areas, disrupting vehicular traffic.

Teams of the NDRF and the SDRF were engaged in the work to remove fallen trees and poles. Efforts were also being made to restore the electricity supply in the affected areas.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the severe cyclone crossed the coast near Narsapur between Machilipatnam and Kakinada. It weakened into a cyclone and later into a deep depression. The system is likely to move north-northwestwards across Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Telangana and south Chhattisgarh and weaken into a depression during the next six hours.

The cyclone caused extensive damage to crops in the coastal districts. Agriculture Minister K. Atchenaidu said that in Konaseema district alone, paddy crops over 20,000 acres were damaged.

Vijayawada was receiving heavy rains under the impact of the cyclone, inundating low-lying areas. Rainwater flooded some roads in the city, disrupting traffic. Water also entered houses in some areas of the city.

In the Bapatla district, police rescued a group of 20 people trapped in flood waters at a shrine.

A part of National Highway 16 (Kolkata-Chennai) was submerged near Timmapuram in Palnadu district, bringing the vehicular traffic to a halt.

Authorities closed the Srisailam ghat road due to landslides. Police stopped the vehicles heading to Srisailam at Pedda Dornala in Prakasam district. Authorities deployed JCBs to clear the road.

As flood water entered two tunnels of the Veligonda project in Prakasam district, authorities safely evacuated 200 employees who were working in the tunnels.

In Nandyal district, the Kundu River, the Maddileru, and Chama Kaluva streams were overflowing, inundating low-lying areas. Water was flowing over the bridge at Boyarevula, bringing vehicular traffic to a halt.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visited cyclone-affected Udelarevu in Konaseema district. He will discuss with officials and public representatives about the damage caused by the cyclone.

He also made an aerial survey of the areas affected by the cyclone.

The Chief Minister earlier held a teleconference with district collectors, officials and ministers and made suggestions about measures to be taken in flood-affected areas.

He claimed that they could mitigate damage by dealing effectively with the cyclone during the four to five days.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to provide financial assistance of Rs 1,000 each to those who had taken shelter in relief camps. A family with more than three members will be provided with maximum assistance of Rs 3,000.

Officials said the money would be handed over to them while returning to their homes.

About 75,000 people were shifted to relief camps in the affected districts.

Earlier, the government issued an order giving permission to the district Collectors of affected districts for the distribution of essential commodities, free of cost, to the affected families who were put in relief camps and fishermen whose livelihoods were affected.

The families will be given 25 kg of rice (50 kg for weavers and fishermen), one kg of red gram dal, one litre of palm oil, one kg of onions, one kg of potatoes, and one kg of sugar.

IANS