Nineteen people were killed and several others injured in rain-related incidents, including landslide and flash floods, as heavy rains battered coastal Andhra Pradesh for the third consecutive day on Friday.
Heavy rains, under the influence of a depression that crossed the coast in neighbouring Orissa, have affected normal life in the region as well as in the interior areas of Andhra Pradesh.
According to State Relief Commissioner Debabrata Kanta, Visakhapatnam district accounted for 10 casualties, including seven in a landslide incident in Araku Valley. Two others were injured in the landslide. Three persons were killed in wall collapses in Visakhapatnam city. The toll included five in Srikakulam district, three in Vizianagaram and one in East Godavari district, mainly due to wall collapse.
Nagavalli and Vamsadhara rivers continued to be in spate, flooding more than 600 villages and disrupting road and rail traffic in the region. Air traffic to coastal cities of Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry remained suspended for the second day. Flights to and from Rajahmundry were suspended following poor visibility. The runway and terminal building at Visakhapatnam airport was under a foot of water.
Visakhapatnam bus station was also was under two-foot sheet of water, disrupting the bus services.
Officials said that the water level at Mehadrigedda reservoir near Visakhapatnam city was rising rapidly and if any breach occurred at the reservoir, the entire airport would be completely submerged.
About 12,000 people were evacuated to safer places in the three north coastal districts -- Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram -- which are witnessing floods. In Khammam district in interior Telangana region, about 6,000 people living on settlements along the River Godavari have also been shifted to safer places.
A flood alert was sounded along River Krishna in the state as 503,000 cusec water was released from Srisailam dam and 338,000 cusec from Nagarjunasagar reservoir in view of heavy inflows from reservoirs in the upstream states of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
About 400,000 cusec flood water was being let out into the sea from Prakasam barrage. More than 3,500 people living near the banks of the river in Vijayawada and other places have been evacuated, anticipating fresh floods from upper reaches.
As the level in River Godavari also increased following heavy rainfall in the catchment areas upstream, one million cusec water was discharged from Dowleswaram Barrage into the sea (Bay of Bengal), officials said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who reviewed the situation with senior officials in Hyderabad, directed the district administrative machinery to undertake rescue and relief operations on a war-footing in the affected areas. He also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 to the next of kin of the deceased persons.
The chief minister said he would be visiting north coastal districts and conducting an aerial survey of the situation arising out of the incessant rains and floods on Saturday.
Hyderabad Meteorological Centre Director M Satya Kumar said Andhra Pradesh would continue to receive heavy rains under the influence of the deep depression on the Orissa coast. He said heavy to very heavy rain was likely in the five north coastal districts and extremely heavy rainfall was expected at isolated places over Telangana during the next 48 hours.
