AP Submits Interim Report Estimating Cyclone Damage At ₹4,526 Crore

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said the RTGS and AWARE systems helped the government provide accurate information to field-level officials and take data-driven decisions during cyclones Arnab and Murasu.

Forecasts on wind speeds, rainfall, floods and water management were nearly 90 per cent accurate when compared with ground realities, he said.

Addressing the media at the secretariat, Naidu noted that the state government had submitted an interim report to the Centre estimating damage caused by the cyclones at ₹4,526 crore.

A comprehensive report would be sent soon.

The government was also preparing a preliminary damage assessment for Murasu following the devastation caused by cyclone Arnab.

Naidu said officials continuously monitored the cyclones’ movement, wind speeds and rainfall forecasts to plan relief operations.

“We identified vulnerable villages and areas likely to be affected and deployed rescue personnel and equipment in advance.

This planning helped restore normalcy at the earliest.”

The state, he said, had sought assistance from neighbouring states for power restoration.

He spoke to the CMs of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka of Telangana, requesting them to send in teams of electricity personnel for power restoration works.

Tamil Nadu immediately did so.

The CM said the power infrastructure had suffered extensive damage, with 31,000 electricity poles uprooted, power supply disrupted in 4,095 villages and 548 substations affected.

Although restoration of such a badly damaged network would normally take at least 20 days, coordinated efforts enabled the supply to be restored within four to five days.

“Electricity personnel worked in heavy rain, clearing fallen trees and erecting poles.

Large drilling machines were brought in to speed up the work.

Several poles had fallen into aquaculture ponds.”

He said thousands of trees had fallen, but workers continued clearing them despite the rain.

Cyclone Arnab damaged 3.52 lakh hectares of agricultural crops and 23,211 hectares of horticultural crops.

The government had kept two months’ stocks of essential commodities ready at 19,265 ration shops across 17 districts to ensure supplies in affected areas.

Around 5,000 pregnant women from cyclone-hit areas were shifted to hospitals.

A total of 1,029 deliveries took place during the past week.

Medical camps, ambulances, emergency medicines and anti-snake venom were also made available.

The government ensured sanitation and the supply of safe drinking water, and instructed officials to take preventive measures against the spread of infectious diseases.

Naidu said the administration had prioritised people’s safety and essential needs during both cyclones, without making distinctions based on their status.