While cyclonic storm ‘Nilam’ spared the State, torrential rains tailing its landfall brought vast stretches of crops in Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur and East Godavari districts under water and claimed the lives of six persons.
Three casualties took place due to electrocution, one each in Nellore, East Godavari and Anantapur, and another in Prakasam in a wall-collapse. Two other rain-related deaths were also reported from Nellore.
North-East monsoon became vigorous over the State aided by the storm, causing downpour at many places. The lashing was such that Vinjamur in Nellore district recorded a rainfall of 16 cm, the State’s highest, Ongole, Tirumala 15 cm each, Darsi 14 cm, Addanki, Cumbum and Kavali 13 cm each, Rajampet, Bheemunipatnam and Podili 12 cm each , Venkatagiri and Avanigadda 10 cm each.
G. Sudhakar Rao, director, State Meteorological Office (SMO), said most places in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema received rains ranging up to 6 to 7 cm each on an average.
Cloudy weather
A cloudy weather prevailed in Telangana with Hyderabad and its surroundings receiving intermittent drizzle throughout the day. Places in this region too were likely to be lashed by heavy rains on Friday along with Coastal Andhra, according to an SMO warning.
Paddy crop over an extent of 1,87,500 acres in Nellore, East Godavari, Guntur, Prakasam and Chittoor which bore the brunt of the fury, came under a sheet of water. Agriculture officials, who submitted a preliminary report to the government, however, ruled out damage to paddy as the plants would straighten once the winds subsided. Several streams and tanks in these districts overflowed, with some developing slight breaches, threatening to inundate low-lying habitations around.
It is feared that full-grown plants of cotton in Guntur and Prakasam districts may have suffered extensive damage.
Agriculture Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, who took stock of the crops situation, ordered full-scale enumeration by agriculture/revenue officials for proper assessment of the damage to ensure compensation.
‘Nilam’ moved north-westwards after turning into a depression and stayed stationary at Chitradurg in Karnataka with its influence extended to Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. It was likely to weaken further into a low pressure area before gradually fizzling out.
