Missing links in India’s cyclone response: Housing, crop & livelihood challenges after Cyclone Montha

The landfall of severe cyclonic storm Montha on the evening of October 28, 2025 has caused extensive damage to crops, power, roads and transport infrastructure. The cyclone reportedly produced wind speeds of around 100 kilometres per hour and heavy rainfall, damaging about 87,000 hectares of crops in Andhra Pradesh alone. Several other states such as Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Telangana and Jharkhand have also suffered its impact.

Despite the significant progress India has made over the last two decades in cyclone response, particularly in following a ‘zero casualty’ approach to minimise the loss of lives, there remain at least three critical gaps that must be addressed.

Housing challenge

Global climate change is expected to produce more intense tropical cyclones, which means these storms will bring higher wind speeds, heavier rainfall and, in some cases, increased tidal heights and flooding. In a country such as India, where 18 per cent of the total population lives in coastal districts, a large proportion of existing housing stock falls under the kuchha and semi-pucca categories.

There is, as yet, no estimate of the number of housing units damaged or destroyed by Cyclone Montha, but tens of thousands of people who have been evacuated to designated shelters were presumably moved because of unsafe housing conditions.

In previous instances, such as Cyclone Fani in 2019, around 421,000 houses were damaged in Odisha. Similarly, Cyclone Titli in 2018 damaged or destroyed about 50,000 residential houses in Andhra Pradesh. How do authorities deal with such extensive housing damage in the wake of tropical cyclones? The situation is markedly different from that in developed countries.

In the United States, for example, statutory support exists under the Stafford Act, which allows federal assistance for immediate repair and temporary housing arrangements, including the provision of mobile homes.

The challenge in a post-cyclone scenario is thus twofold:
a) assisting in the repair of partially damaged residential houses, and
b) providing alternative housing for those whose homes were severely or completely destroyed.

These challenges are preceded by another crucial step of conducting an efficient and time-bound enumeration process by a competent team to determine the extent of damage and the corresponding relief. Housing is central to a family’s existence, and its recovery must be prioritised through clear policies and well-defined plans for coastal districts.

In addition to housing, two other areas require urgent attention: Crop damage and fishing boat losses.

Minimum support for crop damage

The post-monsoon cyclone season in India coincides with the harvest season for kharif crops. As a result, cyclone-induced winds and rainfall invariably cause massive damage to standing crops and horticultural varieties, including major cash crops such as cashew and coconut.

The usual response is to announce relief packages under the Disaster Response Fund at state and national levels. However, there is no standardisation in assessing crop damage or determining relief amounts. This leaves farmers in a precarious situation ahead of cyclonic impacts, unsure of what actions to take. It is common, for instance, to see farmers harvesting premature crops in panic during warnings, while others leave them in the field, hoping for a miracle.

There is also a lack of uniformity in relief packages announced across states and sometimes even within the same state at different times. The process of determining compensation is often opaque; for example, long-gestation crops are sometimes treated only marginally better than seasonal ones.

A more systematic approach is needed to be initiated at the central level. Clearly laid-out procedures must be established for standardising relief for crop damage due to cyclones, floods, or unseasonal rain. Such an initiative, carried out through a consultative process, could meaningfully complement rapid assessments using remote sensing technology. The goal should be to ensure that a minimum financial relief package is available within a stipulated time frame, based on predefined criteria.

Securing fishing boats from cyclone damage

Cyclone warnings are generally issued early enough for fisherfolk to take precautionary measures, such as avoiding the sea. However, little has been done to prevent or minimise damage to fishing boats — the mainstay of fisherfolk’s livelihoods.

When a cyclone warning is issued, how can they secure their boats? At best, a boat can be berthed and anchored strongly to withstand the gale. Yet, during a cyclone, rising sea levels cause boats to float and collide with one another, resulting in heavy damage. Thus, even with early warnings, fishermen often cannot avoid losses.

This explains why, in recent cyclones such as Fani and Hudhud, extensive damage to boats occurred despite adequate advance warning. The standard practice is to provide financial assistance as a well-intentioned measure to alleviate the distress of affected fishermen. However, the sanctioned amount is often far less than the actual repair or replacement cost.

What is needed is an innovative solution to help secure fishing boats during such extreme weather events.

Biswanath Dash is an associate professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus (biswanath@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in). Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth.