On an average, the coastline is hit by at least one high-intensity cyclone every three years.
The 970-kilometre coastline is no doubt an asset for the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh but it has also proved to be a liability, considering the cyclones the region encounters each year.
As per the information from the Department of Disaster Management, the Hudhud cyclone is the 75th one since 1871. A conservative estimate of cyclonic devastation points at a loss of over Rs. 65,000 crore besides 16,325 human deaths since 1977, the year which had seen the worst of the cyclones in Diviseema in Krishna district. The Diviseema catastrophe claimed over 10,000 human lives and around 2.5 lakh cattle.
On an average, the coastline is hit by at least one high-intensity cyclone every three years. As per the estimates of the Department of Disaster Management, over 30 lakh people living in five kilometers alongside the coastline in AP are vulnerable to cyclones and over 44 per cent of the region is impacted.
The chief reason behind it is that Andhra Pradesh falls in the 12,000-km coastline within South Asia, which is vulnerable to cyclones. Over 95 per cent of the major cyclonic disasters experienced in the world have taken place in the region. And the incidence of cyclones is more in the Bay of Bengal when compared to the Arabian Sea.
While the recurring disasters of different sorts have had a severe impact on the State’s economy and policies, the dilly dallying of government machinery played havoc with payment of compensation due to farmers. The glaring example of this can be attributed to the latest cyclone Phailin and the related compensation which is unpaid. The government officials could, with great difficulty, reach the cyclone-hit districts several months after its occurrence. And the farmers are still waiting for the damages incurred in the Phailin cyclone that hit crops in 2013.
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