Incessant rainfall has battered several areas in Andhra Pradesh over the past 24 hours, causing widespread disruption. Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner HM Dhyanachandra confirmed that one person died due to a landslide in the Gunadala hillock area of the city.
“Landslides occurred in the Gunadala hillock area over a house. One death has been confirmed, and we are clearing the debris to check if any other body is inside,” Dhyanachandra told PTI on Saturday.
Vijayawada city received 18 cm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Saturday, and the downpour continued throughout the day. The Municipal Commissioner reported that multiple civic body teams have been working tirelessly since 4 am to divert water from flooded roads into canals using pumps. Twenty-two areas in the city have been affected, with rainwater entering homes in a couple of flood-prone wards.
The continuous rainfall is hindering relief operations, but the civic body has opened all community halls in the city to accommodate those affected. Food and drinking water have been arranged for the displaced residents.
In addition to Vijayawada, Machilipatnam received 18 cm of rainfall, followed by Gudivada (17 cm), Kaikaluru (15 cm), Narasapuram (14 cm), Amaravati (13 cm), Mangalagiri (11 cm), and both Nandigama and Bhimavaram (11 cm each). Several other locations across the state recorded rainfall between 1 cm and 9 cm, according to data from the Meteorological Department.
In Guntur town and at the Kaza toll plaza between Vijayawada and Guntur, several roads were inundated with rainwater, further complicating travel and relief efforts.
Further, the Met Department said the depression over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts was likely to move further west-northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur, close to Kalingapatnam around midnight Saturday.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu 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 (SoPs) after informing the downstream areas.
(With inputs from PTI)
