8 Dead and Extensive Crops Damage as Torrential Rains Hits Andhra Pradesh
Dubela, Ankesh Roy: At least eight people died and several others were injured in different parts of Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours due to heavy rain, lightning and strong winds on Monday. Among the dead, seven were killed by lightning, and a 10-year-old boy died when a tree fell on him at Chekkapalli village in Krishna district.
The identification of the dead bodies has been done and as per reports Bhaskar (52), Karthik (11) and Munindra (30) of Tirupati district; Nagamalleshwara Rao (40) of Bapatla district; Gaddam Brahmayya (50) of Bapatla district; and Saidu Giribabu (33) and Supradeep (23) of Krishna district were died due to lightning strike. One more death has been reported of a 10-year-old Mamidi Balagovindu, when a tree fell on him at Chekkapalli village.
Heavy downpour at different parts of Andhra Pradesh reported on Sunday. There were also thunderstorms, lightning, and strong winds blowing at 60 to 80 km per hour which caused heavy destruction, uprooted trees and electric poles were broken. In some places, the rain flooded the fields and ruined the crops.
About 50,000 acres of paddy fields in the state have been damaged because of this. Strong winds and heavy rain have also harmed thousands of acres of banana, papaya, and maize crops. This eventually led suffering to the farmers of Krishna, East Godavari, and West Godavari districts. Also, the local authorities failed to provide the farmers with timely aid.
On Sunday, Kajulur in Kakinada district recorded the most rainfall (100 mm), followed by Chollangipet (94.5 mm) and Karapa (75.5 mm). Areas like Kakinada and Amalapuram also were heavily affected by the storm Many districts, including East Godavari, Chittoor, and Guntur, were badly affected by the rain. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning 5 days earlier.
Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha has asked officials to make sure people don’t face any problems after the storm. She ordered the Disaster Management Agency, district collectors and police to carry out rescue and relief work quickly. She also told them to check the damage, and to get ready to help people in low-lying areas to and make sure drinking water and electricity are available.
