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AP flood toll rises to sixty

At least sixty people have been killed and hundreds rendered homeless by unabated heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh since the last two days. The rains have left a trail of destruction across the state.

According to the weather office in Hyderabad, heavy to very heavy rain continued to lash the state under the influence of a depression over the Bay of Bengal. As a precautionary measure, schools in Hyderabad have been asked to shut down.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from low-lying areas in the worst affected coastal districts to relief camps set up by the state government. Scores of colonies were marooned and water entered the houses forcing the people to take shelter on rooftops.

Army boats have been pressed into service to rescue the marooned people. Two Indian Air Force helicopters rescued about fifty passengers who were perched on top of a state road transport bus stranded in a flooded rivulet in Guntur district.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is scheduled to make an aerial survey of the affected areas on Thursday.

Reports of the actual losses were not known because of the breakdown in communication due to the rains.

Normal life in the state capital was thrown completely out of gear for the second day on Thursday as many roads were flooded affecting free flow of traffic. Schools declared a holiday as a precautionary measure .

The fire brigade received hundreds of calls from people in various areas complaining about flooding in their homes. Indiramma colony, near the Hyderabad airport, was completely submerged and its residents were shifted to a nearby school.

At the time of reporting, rains continued to lash the state, including the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Many areas in the state capital were plunged in darkness, as there was a breakdown in power supply.

Describing the situation as 'grim', official sources feared that the toll could be much higher than that reported so far. Early on Thursday, six people were killed in a wall collapse in the Banjara Hills area. Twenty-seven deaths were reported from the worst affected Guntur district.

Revenue Minister Ashok Gajapathy Raju rushed to Kurnool district by helicopter to assess the situation.

Making a statement in the state assembly on Wednesday night, the chief minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 100,000 each to the families of those killed in the havoc. Naidu also held a video conference with collectors of all the affected districts asking them to take all necessary steps to cope with the situation.

UNI

EARLIER REPORT
Floods claim 17 in Andhra Pradesh

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