Amaravati, Sep 24 Heavy rains lashed several places in Andhra Pradesh, especially in the north coastal region, disrupting normal life, inundating roads, fields and uprooting trees.
According to a data shared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday, Visakhapatnam registered the highest rainfall at 28 cm, followed by Koyyalagudem 20 cm and Bheemunipatnam, Kakinada and Peddapuram at 15 cm each.
Several places logged more than 5 cm rainfall in the past 24 hours.
Heavy rainfall also disrupted road connectivity, with flood waters inundating the main roads connecting Anakapalli and Chodavaram, bringing traffic to a halt, according to PTI Videos.
At Peddakatha village in Vizianagaram district, family members and relatives of a deceased person had to wade through floodwater while carrying the body.
Several ponds, canals and rivulets overflowed following downpour over the past two to three days in Parvatipuram Manyam district.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the weather situation and directed district administrations to remain alert, as rainfall was expected on Thursday as well as Friday.
“Restore road connectivity immediately in places where roads are affected by heavy water flow. Alert inhabitants where landslides are likely to occur,” said Naidu in an official press release today.
Earlier, the deep depression that brought copious rainfall to parts of Andhra Pradesh over the past two to three days, moved west-northwestwards and crossed the coast close to Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district, the India Meteorological Department said.
The IMD noted that the weather system made landfall between 11 pm on Wednesday and 1 am on Thursday.
“The deep depression over north Andhra Pradesh coast moved slowly west-northwestwards with a speed of three km per hour during the past six hours and crossed the coast close to southwest of Kalingapatnam during 11 pm on September 23 and 1 am September 24,” said the Met Department in an official press release on Thursday.
The widespread rainfall was accompanied by maximum sustained winds with speeds of up to 75 km per hour.
The deep depression further moved northwestwards and lay centred at 8:30 am today over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha, about 70 km west to northwest of Kalingapatnam and 80 km south – southeast of Rayagada in Odisha.
“It is very likely to move north – northwestwards and weaken gradually into a depression around September 24 evening. Thereafter, it is very likely to continue to move north-northwestwards and weaken gradually during the subsequent 24 hours,” said the Met Department.
Vijayawada city in NTR district has been witnessing continuous rainfall since Wednesday morning, leaving several low-lying areas inundated.
Several schools in the city declared a holiday for the second day today.
(PTI News)
