Amaravati:
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, under the influence of severe cyclone Nivar, ranging from 6 cm to 30 cm wreaked havoc to crops in thousands of acres in several districts of Andhra Pradesh and left one person dead, besides damaging the road network on Thursday. Another farmer was feared washed away while National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescued two others from a reservoir in Chittoor district as parts of the state, including districts bordering Tamil Nadu, were lashed by heavy rains since Wednesday evening.
The storm crossed the coast near Puducherry early Thursday, battering the union territory and neighbouring Tamil Nadu before, moving northwards and weakening into a deep depression which lay over South Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh, about 30 Km west southwest of Tirupati, the Met office said. Half of Andhra Pradesh remained battered and normal life was crippled as SPS Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa, Krishna, Prakasam and East Godavari districts received heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at more than 177 places, according to the State Disaster Management Authority.
Other districts like Anantapuramu, Kurnool, Guntur and West Godavari were also receiving moderate to heavy rainfall under Nivars impact. It said gales with a speed of 45-65 kmph were lashing SPS Nellore and Chittoor districts bordering north Tamil Nadu.
Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed the situation with top officials here on Thursday afternoon and asked the respective district Collectors to be on high alert and render every assistance wherever required. State Disaster Management Commissioner K Kanna Babu said moderate to heavy rains were forecast across the state for Friday and Saturday.
Rivulets and streams could be overflowing because of the heavy downpour. People living in low-lying areas should remain on alert. Farmers should take necessary precautions to save their crops, he said in a release. Tirumala Hills, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, has been receiving incessant rain since Wednesday, causing a lot of hardship to hundreds of devotees stranded there.
In SPS Nellore district, which was the worst hit with rainfall as high as 30 cm, at least 3,363 people were shifted to 115 relief camps from vulnerable areas, district Collector Chakradhar Babu said. The Swarnamukhi river in SPS Nellore district was in spate while the Somasila reservoir received an inflow of 65,000 cusecs.
State Water Resources Minister P Anil Kumar visited some relief camps and spoke to the affected people. He later reviewed the situation with his department officials and directed them to ensure that there were no breaches to tanks. In Satyavedu constituency in Chittoor district, 340 families were moved to safety.
In Chittoor town, NDRF and police personnel rescued 34 people, including the local sub-registrar, as the local Gangineni Cheruvu remained swollen, inundating the Chenna Reddy Colony, a police release here said. Reservoirs in SPS Nellore, Chittoor and Kadapa districts filled to the brim following which the excess water was being let out into the streams and rivulets downstream.
This has resulted in water overflowing on roads at many places, cutting off road link, and also inundating agricultural fields. The Annamayya reservoir in Kadapa district received an inflow of 18,000 cusecs of water and it was let out into Cheyyeru.The Pinche project also received a heavy inflow of about 15,000 cusecs.
Uprooted trees also blocked traffic on roads in Kadapa, Chittoor and SPS Nellore districts. The rain left standing crops in several hundred acres inundated in some districts, according to preliminary reports received at the State Disaster Management Authority here.
Paddy, which was in harvesting stage in many districts, was the worst hit. Estimation of the exact loss will be undertaken after the rain abates, SDMA officials said.
The Chief Minister asked SPS Nellore district Collector to render all assistance to the family of the person who died of electrocution on Wednesday. In Chittoor district, three farmers went to their fields to fetch electric motors but were suddenly caught in a swirling flood from the Mallemadugu reservoir on Thursday.
While NDRF and State Emergency Response and Fire Services personnel rescued two farmers, another was washed away and efforts were on to trace him. “We tried to deploy a helicopter for the rescue operation but inclement weather did not permit it. Still, our teams are continuing the search operation for the missing farmer,” Chittoor district Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta said.
He asked people not to venture out of their homes for two days in view of the turbulent weather situation..
