By: Venkat Sai Krishna Kumar M | November 1, 2025

Andhra Pradesh is now facing a daunting recovery challenge after the severe cyclonic storm, Montha, battered its coast. While the government has been lauded for its successful, technology-driven efforts to prevent loss of life, preliminary estimates peg the financial damage at a colossal ₹5,265 crore. The focus has now shifted from rescue to rapid relief and the gargantuan task of restoring the state’s devastated agriculture and infrastructure.

The Scale of Destruction: An Initial Assessment

The preliminary loss report submitted by the state government highlights that the brunt of the damage was borne by two key sectors:

Immediate Relief: Cash and Essential Supplies

The Andhra Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and overseen by the Real-Time Governance Society (RTGS), moved swiftly to announce immediate relief for the affected populations, particularly those in shelter camps.

• Financial Aid: Each family staying in a government-run rehabilitation center is receiving ₹3,000 in financial aid.

• Ex-Gratia for Casualties: The Chief Minister announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹5 lakh to the families of the few lives lost during the storm.

• Essential Commodity Kits: Affected families are receiving comprehensive relief kits, which include:

  • 25 kg of rice

  • 1 kg each of toor dal (pigeon peas), onions, potatoes, and sugar

  • 1 litre of cooking oil

• Special Allocation: Families of fishermen and handloom weavers, whose livelihoods were directly hit, are receiving an additional, larger quantity of essentials to aid their immediate recovery.

Focus on the Farmer: Expediting Compensation and Procurement

With 1.38 lakh hectares of crops destroyed, the government’s top priority is to assure the affected farmers.¹¹ Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has affirmed that every affected farmer will receive compensation.¹² Key measures include:

• Rapid Damage Assessment: Officials have been instructed to complete the crop loss enumeration and damage assessment reports on an urgent basis, with a target of finalising reports for central assistance shortly.

• Wet Paddy Procurement: To prevent distress sales, the government is preparing to procure damaged or moisture-affected paddy directly through Rythu Service Kendras (RSKs).¹⁴ Millers have been tagged to RSKs and instructed to provide drying space and covers for wet produce, ensuring farmers are not penalized for high moisture content caused by the rains.

• Crop Protection: Prior to the cyclone, over 50,000 tarpaulins, sandbags, and plastic sheets were pre-positioned at RSKs for crop protection on a need basis.

Restoration on a War Footing: Power and Connectivity

Thanks to advance planning and deployment of technical teams, restoration efforts began almost immediately after the cyclone weakened.

• Power Supply: Despite the damage to nearly 13,000 electric poles and 3,000 transformers, the Energy Department restored electricity to most domestic and major areas within 24 hours. Full restoration to all agricultural and aquaculture feeders is being expedited.

• Road Clearance: NDRF, SDRF, and local teams immediately cleared hundreds of uprooted trees and fallen debris, rapidly restoring connectivity on most major roads.

The successful management of the pre-cyclone phase, minimizing the loss of life, has been hailed as a major achievement, attributed to real-time monitoring through technology like drones and the Mana Mitra app. The current focus is a seamless, effective transition to a large-scale rehabilitation phase to get the state's economy and its people back on their feet