Helen loss put at Rs 1,628 crore

Hyderabad: State Disaster Management Commissioner C Parthasarathi has put the total loss due to Helen Cyclone that left a trail of destruction in some of the coastal district at Rs 1628 crores. East Godavari district accounted for the maximum loss of Rs 1018 crore.

Speaking to newsmen here, the official said that the preliminary estimation put Rs 500 crore loss in West Godavari district and Rs 110.25 crore in Krishna districts.

Six people were killed due to the cyclone with two deaths each reported in Krishna and East Godavari districts and one each in Srikakulam and West Godvari districts.

He said the authorities have set up 165 medical camps across three districts. A total of 1,313 houses were damaged in East and West Godavari districts. Crops such as paddy and Blackgram spread over 4.6 lakh hectares were damaged in five districts. Horticulture crops spread across 8,700 hectares also suffered damage in three districts.

Heavy rains and strong gales also caused immense damage to infrastructure and the authorities have started the restoration works in all the departments, Parthasarahi added.