Cyclone Arnab: Naidu briefs Amit Shah on the damage, asks for Central teams and aid as crop losses top 2.2 lakh hectares

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah by phone on Wednesday, 28 October, and asked the Centre to send teams to Andhra Pradesh at the earliest to assess the damage left by Cyclone Arnab. He also sought financial assistance from the Centre for relief, rehabilitation and restoration. The call followed a letter he had written to Shah the same day with the same request.

Naidu told Shah that, by preliminary estimates, crops on more than 70,000 hectares had gone under water and horticultural crops on about 10,500 hectares had been hit, besides houses, roads and electricity poles. He listed Visakhapatnam, Konaseema, Kakinada, East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru and Krishna among the affected districts and said the preliminary reports were being sent to the Centre. In his letter, he said more than 28,000 people had been moved to relief centres and that 16 NDRF and 11 SDRF teams were at work in 14 districts, and he asked that the NDRF and other central agencies continue their support.

Crop damage climbs past 2.2 lakh hectares

In a separate letter to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on 28 October, Agriculture Minister K Atchannaidu put the preliminary crop damage at 2,24,489 hectares across 14 districts, affecting about 3.45 lakh farmers. Paddy accounts for 2,09,460 hectares, and horticultural crops such as banana, coconut, vegetables and betel vine for 12,763 hectares. West Godavari is the worst hit, with 76,176 hectares. He asked for immediate financial help and for funds to be released in advance, before the final assessment that joint teams of agriculture, horticulture and revenue officials will make once the water recedes.

The storm brought down about 15,000 electricity poles in Kakinada, Konaseema and West Godavari districts, Eastern Power Distribution Company managing director Immadi Prithvitej said. At the Visakhapatnam fishing harbour, more than 50 mechanised boats were damaged, and at the Odalarevu mini harbour in Konaseema, boats from Odalarevu, Uppada and Nakkapalli were badly damaged when the wind drove them into one another.

Ship ashore, ghat roads hit

A cargo vessel that had left Visakhapatnam for Singapore lost engine power in the storm and drifted ashore near Antarvedi in Konaseema district. Mercantile Marine Department surveyor Dharmasastha said the vessel’s condition and the next steps would be decided after an inspection.

In Alluri Sitharama Raju district, landslides struck the ghat roads, including the Araku–Ananthagiri stretch near Bheesupuram, and swollen streams washed away bridges, cutting off some villages. Runoff damaged a section of the Kothavalasa–Kirandul railway line, halting trains on the route. Several trains from Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Narasapur were cancelled, and flights at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Rajamahendravaram airports were cancelled or disrupted.