Andhra Pradesh: Three dead in flash flood in Kadapa district
Highlights
- PM spoke to CM Jagan Mohan Reddy and enquired about the situation and promised all help to the state
- In Kadapa district, 33 relief camps have been opened and 1,200 persons were lodged in them.
- NDRF and SDRF teams are carrying out relief, rescue operations.
At least eight people were killed and twelve others feared washed away in a flash flood in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh on Friday. A breach to the Annamayya project bund caused a flash flood in Cheyyeru rivulet that left some villages along its coursed inundated, official sources said.
A group of unsuspecting devotees, offering prayers in a Siva temple on the occasion of Kartika Pournami, were caught in the sudden flood and washed away in Rajampet area. Three bodies were later recovered near Nandaluru, the sources said, adding efforts were on to trace the remaining persons.
PM Modi speaks to CM Jagan Mohan Reddy
Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy conducted a videoconference with Collectors of the rain-battered districts and directed them to step rescue and relief measures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy over phone and enquired about the situation and promised all help to the state.
The Chief Minister will undertake an aerial survey of the flood-hit districts on Saturday, the CMO said in a release.
Tirupati suffers heavy damage due to rains
Though the Tirupati International Airport at Renigunta was re-opened for flight operations on Friday, the two ghat roads to Tirumala Hills remained shut. The stairway leading to Tirumala from Alipiri suffered heavy damage due to landslips and flooding, shutting it down for pilgrims who normally trek the Hills.
The Chief Minister asked the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam officials to make arrangements for free accommodation and food for the stranded pilgrims on the Hills. In Rajampeta constituency in Kadapa district, at least five people were killed in a flash flood in the Cheyyeru rivulet while 12 more were still missing.
In neighbouring Anantapuramu district, 10 people stranded in the Chitravati river flood at Veldurthi village were rescued by the Indian Air Force personnel, who specially flew in from Yelahanka Air Force Station in Karnataka.
Rescue operations underway
The IAF team carried out a winching operation using a Mi-17 helicopter to rescue the ten people, who were stuck in a JCB. In Kadapa district, 33 relief camps have been opened and 1,200 persons were lodged in them.
The Chief Minister spoke with Collectors of the flood-hit districts and asked them to step up rescue and relief measures. The South Central Railway said 11 passenger and Express trains were cancelled, five partially cancelled, 27 diverted via other routes and one more rescheduled because of the deluge.
The Rayalaseema districts of Chittoor and Kadapa have been witnessing a worst deluge in years as heavy rains, caused by the depression in Bay of Bengal, caused breaches to several ranks and kept rivers and rivulets in spate.
(with PTI inputs)
