Andhra Pradesh: Seven die in rain-related incidents

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Aug 31 (PTI) Seven persons died in rain-related incidents in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday including four in Vijayawada due to landslides , officials said.

The landslide deaths occurred at Mogalrajapuram area in Vijayawada when large boulders fell on the houses of the deceased due to heavy rain.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the landslide victims.

“Landslides occurred at Mogalrajapuram in Vijayawada, leading to the death of four persons. Naidu expressed sorrow over the deaths. He declared an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased persons,” said an official statement.

The CM directed officials to shift people away from places prone to landslides as heavy rainfall has been forecast for the next two to three days.

At Pedakakani village in Guntur district, a teacher and two students returning home in a hatchback died after their car was washed away while crossing an overflowing stream.

“The incident happened around 12:30 pm. Following the suspension of classes due to rain, the teacher picked up two students along with him to return to a village about 3 km from the school and the hatchback was washed away while crossing a stream,” Guntur district superintendent of police S Satish told PTI.

Though the stream was not very big, Satish observed that the car still got washed away as it was a light hatchback. Police managed to trace all the three bodies, he said.

Incessant rains lashed several places in Andhra Pradesh including Vijayawada in the last 24 hours, officials said.

In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Saturday, Vijayawada city received 18 cm rainfall. The city continued to receive rain on Saturday also.

Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner HM Dhyanachandra said multiple teams from the civic body were working towards diverting water from inundated roads back into canals using pumps.

He further said 22 places in the city were affected, where the civic body teams have been working since 4 am to divert the water and observed that rain water has also entered into houses in a couple of wards prone to flooding.

Incessant rainfall was affecting relief operations, he added.

Meanwhile, Dhyanachandra said all the community halls in the city were opened to accommodate the affected people. Food and drinking water were arranged for them.

Besides Vijayawada, Machilipatnam also received 18 cm rainfall, followed by Gudivada (17 cm), Kaikaluru (15 cm), Narasapuram (14 cm), Amaravati (13 cm), Mangalagiri (11 cm) and Nandigama and Bhimavaram (11 cm each).

Several other places across the state registered rainfall between 1 cm and 9 cm, according to data shared by the Meteorological Department.

Several roads in Guntur town and also Kaza toll plaza between Vijayawada and Guntur were inundated with rain water.

Roads are inundated in many towns across the state due to heavy rain, throwing normal life out of gear.

Further, the Met Department said the depression over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts “is likely to move northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur, close to Kalingapatnam around midnight today.”

The Chief Minister held a teleconference with officials to review the weather situation as three days of heavy rains have been forecast.

He directed the entire government machinery to be on alert and called for coordination between the Irrigation and Revenue Departments to monitor ponds.

Earlier, the Meteorological Department predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall on Saturday in several parts of Andhra Pradesh as the low-pressure system over Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression.

Further, the weather department said squally weather with wind speeds reaching up to 50 km per hour is prevailing over west central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal.

Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) managing director R Kurmanadh said parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh will receive heavy rainfall today, accompanied by strong surface winds.

Isolated places in Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Parvatipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Visakhapatnam districts are expected to receive heavy rain, he said.

He cautioned people to be wary of overflowing canals and streams, including uprooted power lines and low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, the Central Water Commission (CWC) warned that most of the rivers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are expected to swell over the next two days.

As increased water flows are expected into several projects such as Nagarjunasagar, Srisailam, Thottapalli, Madduvalasa, Sriram Sagar and others, the CWC called for water discharge as per standard operating procedures after informing people in the downstream areas.