gets most of its annual rainfall due to the southwest monsoon. It has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw) with hot summers and moderate winters. The hottest months are between April and June. The average normal rainfall in the district is and Machilipatnam is vulnerable to high surges of the sea due to cyclones. The 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone crossed the coast near Nizampatnam and took approximately 10,000 lives. As the storm approached the coast, gale winds reaching 200 km/h lashed Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, East Godavari and West Godavari districts. A storm surge, 5 meters high, inundated the Krishna estuary and the coast south of the city (Bandar). On 8 December 2004, a high capacity S-Band Doppler cyclone warning radar was installed, commissioned and made operational at the city by the German manufacturer Gematronik. With the installation of the radar, it is hoped the state will be better equipped to track cyclones. The facility will monitor the 960 km long coastline of the state. Demographics census, Machilipatnam had a population of 1,70,008. The total population constitutes 83,561 males and 86,447 females — a sex ratio of 1035 females per 1000 males. 13,778 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 7,076 are boys and 6,702 are girls. The average literacy rate stands at 83.32% with 130,173 literates, significantly higher than the state average of 67.41%. Governance Civic administration Machilipatnam Municipal Corporation is the civic body of the city. It was constituted as a municipality in 1866 and was upgraded to corporation from special grade municipality on 9 December 2015. It covers an area of under its jurisdiction. The present commissioner of the corporation is Sampath and the municipal chairperson is Motamarri Venkata Baba Prasad. Machilipatnam Urban Development Authority is the urban planning authority, headquartered at Machilipatnam. Politics Machilipatnam is a part of Machilipatnam (Assembly constituency) for Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Perni Venkata Ramaiah is the present MLA of the constituency from the YSR Congress Party. The assembly segment is also a part of Machilipatnam (Lok Sabha constituency), which was won by Balashowry Vallabhaneni of YSR Party. Economy Machilipatnam is known for its handloom industry, which produces Kalamkari textiles exported to United States and other Asian countries. Other notable local industries are boat building and fishing. Machilipatnam was a trading base for the Europeans in the 17th century and known for minting copper coins, exporting diamonds,