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Andhra Pradesh
Hundri river floods wreak havoc in Kurnool
Special Correspondent
KURNOOL: Hundri river turned out to be the sorrow of Kurnool city at the dead of the night on Friday when it overflowed its banks. Thousand of tonnes of black cotton soil, carried from the fields in Pathikonda and Kodumur area, were deposited on the streets and in numerous homes and it may take several days to clear the mess.
Screaming residents ran from one place to another to save themselves from the surging waters and waited anxiously for daybreak. According to an estimate, 30,000 families, constituting nearly one-third of the city’s population, were affected by the flash flood.
Nearly two lakh cusecs of water flowed into the river that can accommodate just 75,000 cusecs. The remaining flood flowed over the banks and the bridge at the Raj Vihar Centre for the first time in the living memory of the people.
Police and revenue officials, who were busy rescuing bus passengers at Orvakal throughout the day on Friday, could hardly anticipate the impending danger. The catchment of the Hundri river received over 30 cm of rain on a single day leading to the unprecedented flood.
Frantic calls
When the flood peaked, the city was virtually divided into two with the Superintendent of Police remaining on one side and the District Collector on the other. Officials received thousands of frantic calls from the marooned people but all they could do was to counsel them to take shelter on house tops till morning amid rain and squall.
Water entered all residential colonies. Floodwaters encircled the house of Congress MP Kotla Suryaprakasa Reddy at River View Colony. The water touched the roof of ground floor.
On several streets, water flowed to a level of four to eight feet. Residents said they had hardly any time to collect the valuables and provisions. The flood was so furious that even heavy stuff was washed away, leave alone lighter things like clothes and utensils.
The property loss is likely to run into hundreds of crores of rupees as shops, houses and godowns were inundated.
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