The heavy rain in Vijaywada caused by cyclone Helen threw life out of gear on Saturday.
The city woke up to early morning cloudburst that led to inundation of many low-lying areas including those in One Town and some posh colonies in the heart of the city. Some low-lying areas were inundated as the city was lashed by rain from Friday night itself and it continued pouring till around 2 p.m. The worst-affected colonies were Housing Board Colony, Labour Colony, Urmila Subba Rao Nagar, NSC Bose Nagar and Old Rajarajeswaripeta.
Water was up to three feet deep at Gollapalem gattu area in One Town.
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Locals downstream of Prakasam Barrage and One Town area were safe. No casualties were reported.
A sheet of water covered Eluru and Bandar roads. Motorists found it difficult to navigate the water-logged roads and people had to wade through knee-deep water at some places.
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Two-wheeler riders faced difficulty while trying to navigate water-logged Pinnamaneni Polyclinic Road, Jammichettu Centre, Sunnabbattila Centre, Kothavanthena Centre, Machavaram Down, Krishna Lanka, One Town, Vidyadharapuram, Kabela Centre and the slopes on either side of the tunnel.
The railway low bridge was also flooded forcing all vehicle users to take the flyover causing severe congestion at Police Control Room Centre. Despite heavy rain, it was life as usual for the people and students who went about their daily chores in a habitual way.
There were no heavy crowds on the roads but they were not deserted either. The weather quickly improved giving relief to officials and people alike. However, the officials did not lower their guard expecting more rain in the next few days as heavy rain was predicted.
Meanwhile, the VMC opened control room with a toll-free number 0866-2427485, and asked the people to contact the control room to inform them if they faced any problems. Sub-Collector D. Harichandana said it was a downpour but not one that required setting of relief camps.