Cyclone Murasu has killed 8 people in Andhra Pradesh: 5 in Bapatla district, 2 in Guntur and 1 in Palnadu. Officials put the total loss at ₹1,918.55 crore in a preliminary assessment presented to CM Chandrababu Naidu at a review on Thursday.
The damage
- Farm crops: 1,43,122 hectares, 1,86,063 farmers. Horticulture: 6,749 hectares, 12,586 farmers.
- 983 houses, 346 boats and 220 fishing nets damaged.
- 760 km of major district roads and state highways damaged. Under Panchayat Raj, 74 rural roads over 204 km were hit, with repairs estimated at ₹92.08 crore.
- 59 mandals and 649 gram panchayats affected.
- ₹37 crore released to districts for immediate relief.
Officials said an accurate crop-loss count will take 48 to 72 hours after floodwater recedes. The News Minute notes that Cyclone Arnab, a week earlier, killed at least 7 people, with a preliminary loss estimate of ₹4,600 crore. Andhra Jyothy reports the CM has ordered a full damage report sent to the Centre.
CM at Jillelamudi
On Friday the CM inspected flooded paddy fields at Jillelamudi in Bapatla district and the floodwater at the Jillelamudi bridge. He asked farmers whether they had crop insurance, said insurance and input subsidies are key support in disasters, and announced a large crop insurance awareness drive. Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy was with him.
The opposition
No YSRCP response on Murasu had been reported. During Cyclone Arnab, on October 30, Jagan Mohan Reddy blamed delays in relief on weakened village secretariats and the end of the volunteer system, and demanded that all paddy be procured.
