Heavy rains lash AP as deep depression crosses coast

The deep depression in Bay of Bengal that crossed the coast close to Kakinada in East Godavari district on Tuesday morning left a trail of devastation as it brought with it a massive downpour in several districts of Andhra Pradesh. 

The State Disaster Management Authority said the deep depression crossed the coast between 6.30 AM and 7.30 AM. A woman was killed when the wall of her house collapsed at Bommuru village in East Godavari district. Rainfall ranging from 11.5 cm to 24 cm was recorded in more than 100 places in the state, primarily in East Godavari, West Godavari, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Krishna districts. 

A cargo vessel from Bangladesh, which lay anchored in the sea, was swept close to the Tenneti Park beach in Visakhapatnam city due to the heavy wind that accompanied the storm. The Visakhapatnam Marine Police said the ship's anchor got snapped because of which it was swept ashore but the 15 crew members have been rescued. Boats of fishermen have swept ashore in the storm but no casualties were reported. 

AP Maritime Board CEO N Ramakrishna Reddy said 13 international ships were at the Kakinada Inner Anchorage Port. Loading and unloading operations were stopped and the cargo barges were brought back to the commercial canal. All 13 ships were asked to shift to Outer Anchorage for safety purpose, he said. While roads in Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and Krishna district remained battered, power distribution network also suffered damages, official sources said. 

Eastern Power Distribution Company Superintending Engineer A V Suryaprakash said 33 kv and 11 kv power substations suffered damages in more than 50 places. "But we have taken up repairs and restored power supply in most of the places," he said. Agriculture and horticulture crops in hundreds of acres in the two Godavari districts were inundated due to the deluge. 

Reports from the districts said some ''kutcha'' houses collapsed due to the incessant downpour. The downpour also left hundreds of houses in many districts flooded. Tallarevu in East Godavari district recorded the maximum 24.3 cm of rainfall, Rayavaram 22.7 cm, Ramachandrapuram 20.6 cm, Akiveedu in West Godavari 20.2 cm, Mandasa in Srikakulam 17 cm, Chatrai in Krishna district 15.6 cm, Bhimili in Visakhapatnam district 15.5 cm, Visakhapatnam urban 11 cm, Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram 11 cm and Narsipatnam 10 cm of rainfall, according to the Met office here. 

Small rivers like Tandava, Sarada, Gostani, several rivulets and streams in these districts were overflowing due to the unabated rainfall for the last two days, sources in the SDMA said. The reservoirs in East Godavari, Visakhapatnam and West Godavari districts were filled to the brim, thanks to the rain.