The Hindu : Front Page : A.P. flood situation grim

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 24, 2007
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A.P. flood situation grim

Several villages inundated

HYDERABAD: The flood situation in Andhra Pradesh remained grim on Saturday. Several villages in Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Kadapa, Anantapur and Prakasam districts were inundated as rivulets and streams swelled following heavy rain caused by a depression in the Bay of Bengal.

Fourteen construction workers, earlier reported washed away in the Kundu river near Nandyal in Kurnool district, were found alive after the waters receded. They had reached elevated areas or clung to tree-tops. The death toll, however, rose to 32 with five casualties reported from different places.

Kurnool district accounted for nine deaths, with the Handri and Kundu rivers in spate. Kurnool city suffered heavy damage as the Handri flowed through its thoroughfares. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said Army personnel were taking part in the rescue and relief operations in Nandyal.

Dr. Reddy was forced to abandon a planned aerial survey of the affected areas due to inclement weather. After reviewing the situation with senior officials, he told reporters that nearly 200 relief camps had been opened, and five lakh food packets and 11 lakh water sachets distributed. The assessment of the damage to crops and houses was on, and compensation would be paid once the data was available.

The Chief Minister said that over 3 lakh families in five districts were affected. The situation in Mahabubnagar district, where the waters of the Tungabhadra entered villages in the Gadwal and Alampur areas, was being closely monitored.

There was no let-up in rain, even though the depression weakened and moved towards Maharashtra.

The Meteorological Department forecast that the wet spell could continue for two more days in the State, which already received 49 per cent in excess of the normal rainfall this monsoon. The levels in the Krishna and the Godavari are rising due to heavy rain in Maharashtra.

Transport hit

Train services were hit after the South Central Railway either cancelled or diverted trains as the track was washed away in several places. Bus services were also affected.

The Government has imposed restrictions on movement of vehicles as 132 tanks had breached, and the roads were under water.

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