Flash floods have claimed ten lives in Andhra Pradesh as heavy rains lashed several parts of the state, inundating low-lying areas, disrupting vehicular, rail and air traffic and snapping electricity and communication lines, officials said on Friday.
Dozens of towns and villages in parts of coastal AP as well as Kurnool and Anantapur districts in Rayalseema region were inundated as rivulets, streams and irrigation tanks were overflowing and some of them even breached following incessant rains in the last 24 hours.
Heavy rains, accompanied by strong winds with a speed of 45 to 55 km per hour, hit the coastal areas of the state hit coastal area near Kakinada town early Friday.
The first heavy rains of the season caused widespread havoc in East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Kurnool and Anantapur districts, throwing normal life out of gear, uprooting trees and communication and electricity towers.

Passengers stranded
Hundreds of passengers were stranded in buses and trains as roads and railway tracks were submerged at several places in Kurnool, Guntur, Anantapur and Chittoor districts.
Officials said all 21 passengers of a bus caught in the floodwaters in Orvakallu stream in Kurnool  were rescued. Seven other  caught in Chittoor district were also rescued by local authorities.
The rains have hit the air services to the port city of Visakhapatnam. Several airlines, including Indian, Air Deccan, Paramount and Kingfisher, have cancelled their flights due to poor visibility. Meanwhile, heavy rains and official apathy in the city claimed the life of a nine-year-old boy who was drowned in an open manhole here on Friday, a day after another child was washed away in an open drain.