Montha wreaks havoc in coastal Andhra, two killed

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.

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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.