Prakasam district has suffered the worst-ever drought in 56 of the 58 mandals in the last 45 years. Parchur accounted for a maximum number of 19 sunstroke deaths since May 19, followed by Ulavapadu with 14 deaths, Chirala, Chimakurthy, Nagulapupadu and Kothapatnam with 11 each, Mundlamuru with 10 deaths, Addanki and Inkollu.
“Lack of awareness about preventive measures is contributing to more deaths. Water kiosks and ORS sachets were being distributed in the affected areas and PHCs were being opened round-the-clock,” Prakasam District Collector Sujatha Sharma said.
Prakasam was closely followed by Guntur which recorded 168 deaths. Visakhapatnam with 123, East Godavari (107), Vizianagaram (102), Nellore (89), Srikakulam (49), Kurnool (49), Chitoor (38), Kadapa (32), Kurnool (24), Anantapur (24) and West Godavari (13) had their share in the casualties. Interestingly, Coastal districts recorded relatively higher temperature compared to Rayalaseema districts, which are usually known for registering high day temperature.
There is some respite though as Met officials said light to moderate rain or thunder showers would occur at isolated places in Coastal and Rayalaseema regions in the next couple of days. Day temperatures came down by at a few places in the State.
At Kakinada in East Godavari district, the maximum temperature dropped from 43 degrees Celsius on Tuesday to 37.2 degrees on Wednesday. Similarly, Tuni witnessed a drop of day temperature from 40.0 to 36.6 degrees Celsius and at Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district, the day temperature fell from 37.0 to 35.3 degree Celsius.
Officials said there was a low pressure area in Bay of Bengal, resulting in a cloud cover over coastal Andhra. Already, gentle winds blew across Vijayawada, Guntur as well on Wednesday evening. The highest temperature of 46.9 degree Celsius was recorded at Ongole , followed by 46.6 at Nandigama and 46.3 at Vijayawada and 46.3 at Bapatla.
