At least 25 rain-related deaths were reported in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, while heavy downpour wreaked havoc in Karnataka as a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal crossed the coast in Kakinada, leaving behind a trail of destruction in the southern states.
Six more people, including four members of a family, were killed in a wall collapse triggered by heavy rains in Pandharpur town of Maharashtra’s Solapur district during the day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and his Andhra counterpart YS Jagan Mohan Reddy after the two southern states were hit by heavy rains and assured them of all possible support and assistance from the Centre in the rescue-and-relief work. “My thoughts are with those affected due to the heavy rains,” he wrote on Twitter.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is closely monitoring the situation in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and the central government will provide all possible help to the two states.
While 15 people died in Hyderabad following incessant rainfall, which led to waterlogging on roads and inundation of some low-lying areas in the city, 10 people were killed in rain-related incidents across Andhra Pradesh in the last 48 hours.
The deaths in Hyderabad were mostly caused by wall and house collapses triggered by the heavy downpour. The Telangana government had declared a holiday on Wednesday and Thursday for all private institutions, offices, non-essential services within Outer Ring Road here in view of the rains. People were advised to stay indoors. Three members of a family, including a child, died in a house collapse in Gaganpahad area of Shamshabad. Ten people died in two wall collapse incidents in the Chandrayangutta police station limits.
A 40-year-old woman and her daughter died after the roof of their house fell on them in the Ibrahimpatnam area of the city on Tuesday night. Several localities in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits received very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall leading to waterlogging on several roads and low-lying areas. Rivulets and other water bodies were in spate in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district in the state following heavy rains and the administration has advised people not to travel on or cross such rivulets and inundated roads.
Police teams and personnel of Disaster Response Force (DRF) of GHMC and NDRF evacuated several families from different localities that were flooded, even as rescue efforts were on in many other areas. Several trees and electricity poles were uprooted due to the deluge. Power supply was suspended in most parts of the state capital on Tuesday as a precaution.
Later in the evening, the troops of the Army’s Bison Division launched relief and rescue columns in the Bandlaguda area Hyderabad. The forces evacuated stranded people and provided food packets along with medical relief to those affected.
In Andhra Pradesh, heavy rains caused damage to roads and disrupted power supply at several places. For the second time in less than 20 days, river Krishna remained swollen on Wednesday as it received a heavy flood due to rainfall over the last couple of days.
A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said 10 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state in the last two days. The chief minister ordered that ex-gratia be immediately paid to the victims’ families. He asked officials to focus on restoration of power supply and repair damaged roads on a war-footing.
A breach occurred to the Sarada river bund near Yalamanchili in Visakhapatnam district, inundating over 2,000 acres of agricultural fields in the vicinity. The flood impact was felt in Chodavaram, Payakaraopeta, Yalamanchili and Anakapalli mandals in the district.
The famous nurseries at Kadiyam near Rajamahendravaram were flooded due to downpour in East Godavari district. The Vamsadhara river in Srikakulam district received heavy flood under the impact of heavy rain in the catchment area in neighbouring Odisha.
In Karnataka, all major dams in the Cauvery and the Krishna basins are brimming and their floodgates were opened. Officials said Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Bidar were severely affected as small streams were in spate with many lakes overflowing and inundating villages. In Chincholi taluk of Kalaburagi district, the stop-gates of Nagarala and Chandrampalli lakes were opened, flooding nearby villages. Normal life was paralysed as a major lake overflowed in Aland taluk of Kalaburagi district.
In Yargol village of Yadgir district, water gushed out of weir of the lake, resulting in damage to crops and water-logging. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said winter could be colder this season due to the prevailing La Nina conditions.
“As weak La Nina condition is prevailing, we can expect more cold this year. The El Nino and La Nina conditions play a dominant role if you consider the large scale factor for the occurrence of cold wave conditions,” IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said. He was addressing a webinar on ‘Cold Wave Risk Reduction’ organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). “La Nina conditions are favourable for cold wave conditions, while El Nino conditions are unfavourable for it,” he added.
An IMD weather bulletin said heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls (>20 cm per day) at isolated places was very likely over Konkan and Goa and heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places over coastal Karnataka and madhya Maharashtra on October 15.
Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea over Gulf of Mannar, Comorin area and Southwest Bay of Bengal, along and off Karnataka-Kerala coats and north Andaman Sea during 14th-15th October, east-central and adjoining north-east Arabian Sea and along and off Maharashtra-south Gujarat coast during 14th-18th October, the department said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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