The body of a woman worker was retrieved, while three others were feared dead after they were washed away in the swirling waters of Balijapalle tank after it overflowed on a causeway on Thursday night. The police in coordination with the NDRF and SDRF teams had launched the rescue operation amidst difficult conditions, which continued into the late evening of Friday.
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The four women belonging to Bangarupalem mandal were returning home from a nearby pulp factory when the accident occurred on Thursday night. Deputy SP (Palamaner) Gangaiah launched the rescue operation immediately with the help of local people, but in vain.
On Friday morning, the body of a woman was traced several metres down the swirling stream, while search continued for three others. “Going by the flooding in a large radius from the accident spot, the chances of the other women still being alive are remote after 20 hours of operation,” said a police official on the rescue mission.
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Chittoor district received a record 7,473.6 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours ending Friday morning. Of the 66 mandals, 64 received excess rainfall. The rainshadow Peddamandyam mandal received 204.6 mm.
In Tirupati, the situation continued to be grim in various localities, including Leela Mahal Junction, Karakambadi Road, Akkarampalle, Madhura Nagar, Tataiahgunta, Bairagipatteda, and Vaikunta Puram. Hundreds of houses close to Tirumala foothills were inundated. Electricity was not restored in over 70% of localities in Tirupati Corporation.
One house collapsed and was washed away in the flood of the Swarnamukhi river on the outskirts of Tirupati. The carcasses of cattle, sheep, and other livestock were seen along streams in Tirupati and Madanapalle divisions.
According to the preliminary estimate of the APSPDCL, about 1,500 electric poles were uprooted in Nellore and Chittoor districts, leaving over 3,000 villages without power since Thursday evening.
In Chittoor district, about 1,400 villages were cut off after they were surrounded by the floodwaters due to overflowing streams and tank breaches. The road traffic was cut off from Tirupati towards Pudi and Pachikapallam. Vehicular movement from Tirupati towards Chittoor and Madanapalle was also stopped owing to road damages at several places. Heavy inflows of rainwater kept gushing from Seshachalam Hills into Tirupati on Friday, while the famous Kapilatheetham waterfall showed its fury.
Over 50 pregnant women patients were shifted to the SVIMS and SVRR Hospital after the Padmavathi Maternity Hospital was flooded with water gushing from Tirumala Hills on Friday night.
In Chittoor, several areas along the Neeva river were inundated, which included Thenabanda, Thotapalam, Santhapeta, Ponnai bridge area, and Iruvaram. Traffic on the Chittoor-Chennai NH was stopped after the Ponnai bridge overflowed. Gangineni and Kattamanchi tanks had brimmed with waters. The rural roads in Chittoor, Gudipala, Irala, Pakala, Puthalapttu, and Tavanampalle were badly damaged. The eastern mandals of Varadaihpalem, BN Kandriga, Satyavedu, Sri Kalahasti, and Yerpedu witnessed flooding of several residential areas.
District Collector M. Hari Narayanan said 38 rehabilitation centres were set up, and close to 4,000 people were accommodated in them.
Irrigation officials lifted the gates of the Kalyani dam, resulting in a heavy discharge of waters into the Swarnamukhi river downstream. The flow was virulent from Mungilipattu to Srikalahasti, and later entering Naidupeta and Gudur in the SPSR Nellore district. The reservoirs of Kalangi, Araniyar, Krishnapuram and Pedderu too received heavy inflows during the last 24 hours, forcing the officials to release floodwaters downstream.
Madanapalle town and surrounding mandals continue to be on high alert with unprecedented inflows into the Bahuda river, after flooding in the upper reaches of Karnataka. The Talakona waterfalls was in full frenzy after a downpour in Seshachalam Hills. The Gargeya and Pincha rivers were in spate on the Chittoor-Kadapa border.
Meanwhile, the authorities at the Tirupati International Airport restored air traffic from the early hours of Friday, after clearing the water on the runway.