Amaravati, Nov 3
At least two persons were killed on Tuesday in the severe cyclonic storm Murasu that wreaked havoc in Andhra Pradesh, destroying standing crops in over 52,000 hectares, damaging over 300 dwellings and power transmission lines, officials said.
The cyclone, the second to hit the state within a week, made landfall in the early hours on Tuesday and brought standing crops in 15 districts under water, with Krishna, Bapatla and Nandyala districts being the most affected.
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall was witnessed in several areas ahead of the landfall. Thousands of trees were uprooted, and a total of 2,750 electricity poles were damaged.
Power transmission lines, substations and critical distribution equipment have been damaged due to strong winds and heavy rainfall, officials said, adding that the impact was high in Prakasam and Bapatla districts.
At least two people died in cyclone-related incidents in the state, and 12,230 people continue to remain in cyclone shelters, Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA), Prakhar Jain told PTI.
As per preliminary estimates, Jain said, “The cyclone has inflicted a loss of at least Rs 344 crore to the southern state, affecting 52,459 hectares of crops.”
As many as 312 houses were affected by the cyclone, and the government is monitoring 814 minor irrigation tanks and has put 776 of them on alert, Jain added.
Some fishing boats were wrecked in Prakasam district, and vehicles were stranded on national highways, and motorists struggled to navigate due to poor visibility caused by heavy rainfall and gusty winds.
The adverse weather conditions disrupted vehicular movement, leaving commuters stranded at several locations. Over 35 trains were cancelled, 14 were diverted, and eight were rescheduled, and a number of flights were also cancelled.
The Fire Department deployed 185 teams to clear uprooted trees and bail out floodwaters, and eleven NDRF and 13 SDRF teams are engaged in relief operations; the cyclone had a big impact in 132 mandals spread across 15 districts.
The state government has arranged 171 relief camps and distributed 14,810 food packets, the government said in an official release, adding that, as a precautionary move, 3,066 pregnant and 1,008 nursing mothers were shifted to hospitals.
Also, as many as 725 medical teams were dispatched to 13 districts and 362 ambulances were placed on standby, among other measures, the government said.
Bapatla recorded an extremely heavy rainfall of 22 cm, and Narasapur (20 cm), Karamchedu (16 cm), Addanki (15 cm) and Bhimavaram (13 cm) were among the places that experienced very heavy showers from 8.30 am on Monday to 8.30 am on Tuesday.
Intermittent, moderate to heavy rainfall continued in several places following the landfall.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu thanked the Centre for its “prompt support and solidarity” in tackling the storm.
Naidu said the state machinery was working in close coordination with Central teams to carry out rescue and relief operations.
The CM also thanked his Karnataka counterpart D K Shivakumar and the people of the neighbouring state for their timely support in dealing with the impact of the storm.
The severe cyclonic storm weakened into a cyclonic storm, and it is likely to further weaken into a deep depression by midnight on November 3.
The Meteorological Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in coastal Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.
The severe cyclonic storm ‘Murasu’ crossed the South Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narasapur, close to Ongole, between 3.30 am and 5.30 am on Tuesday with wind speeds of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph.
(PTI News)
