Date:04/08/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/04/stories/2006080423330100.htm

Front Page

North-Coastal Andhra under floods, two killed

Special Correspondent

Vamsadhara, Nagavali are in spate as torrential rain continues

HYDERABAD: Vast areas in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts were inundated by floods in the Vamsadhara and Nagavali and torrential rain in North Coastal Andhra on Thursday in the wake of deep depression that crossed the Orissa coast.

Flights from Visakhapatnam were cancelled for the day as airport came under a sheet of water. Srikakulam district received nearly 18 cm of rain on Thursday, which is almost equal to the normal rainfall for the entire month of August.

Two persons were killed and six others injured in two incidents of wall collapse in Srikakulam as the Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers rose menacingly due to huge inflows from Orissa. Nearly 300 villages in 19 mandals were inundated, partially or fully, as one lakh cusecs of water flowed in each of these rivers. Normal life in Srikakulam town was thrown out of gear as water entered several low-lying areas.

Vattigadda stream breached the road at Palakonda, cutting off several other villages. An Express train was stranded at Rayagada as mud and boulders fell on the track following landslips.

Rallagadda and Varahalagadda villages in Vizianagaram district were flooded by the Nagavali. Vizianagaram town recorded 20 cm of rain. Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who reviewed the situation, asked officials to evacuate families from vulnerable areas, open relief camps and pump out water from Visakhapatnam airport. He is holding a high-level meeting on Friday to assess the damage and speed up relief measures.

Disaster management Commissioner Debabratha Kanta said nearly 6,000 people were sheltered in 20 relief camps in the three districts. Four relief camps were opened in Visakhapatnam city where an abandoned apartment and a balwadi school building collapsed.

Elsewhere in the State, the Krishna continued to be in spate forcing engineers to open seven gates of Srisailam and all 26 gates of Nagarjunasagar. Meanwhile, heavy rain are likely to continue in Coastal Andhra and Telangana for another 24 hours but the levels in Vamsadhara and Nagavali may fall since rains have abated in the catchment areas in Orissa.