JOIN USHeavy downpour continued to lash several regions of Andhra Pradesh throwing life out of gear and crippling rail and road traffic, with the toll in rain-related incidents induced by “Nilam” cyclone rising to 22 on Sunday.
Coastal districts bore the brunt of nature’s fury with the low-lying areas of East Godavari and West Godavari, Krishna and Visakhapatnam and Khammam in the Telangana region inundated by swollen rivulets causing loss of life and property.
According to the state disaster management office, paddy and other crops over 2,43,634 hectares have been hit, 480 houses fully damaged, 766 partially, 16 tanks breached and 413.91 km of roads damaged.
Around 4,000 people have been shifted to 19 relief camps in Visakhapatnam district. With water levels rising at the Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada, the low-lying areas of the city were flooded. Villages and towns on the banks of the river Godavari were inundated and transport links badly affected.
The latest forecast said isolated heavy to very heavy rain would occur in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East and West Godavari districts. It also said isolated heavy rain was likely in other districts of coastal Andhra and Telangana during the next 48 hours.
The South Central Railway (SCR) diverted several trains as many bridges and railway tracks were inundated.
The SCR also diverted several trains and rescheduled some in the Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section. The trains diverted included the 12513 Secunderabad-Guwahati Express, 12253 Yeshwantpur-Bhagalpur Express, 12666 Kanyakumari-Howrah Express and the 12840 Chennai-Howrah Mail.
The 22606 Villupuram-Puruli Express was on Saturday diverted to run via Ballarshah, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Chakradharpur and Chandil.