Rains, Floods Affect 59,135 People in Four Districts of AP

VIJAYAWADA: Heavy rainfall and floods in River Godavari during the last few days have affected 59,135 people in Alluri Sitarama Raju, Konaseema, Eluru and West Godavari districts.

According to AP State Disaster Management Authority, as many as 165 villages in 15 mandals have been affected. Two kutcha houses and six huts suffered full damage while five houses got damaged partially.

District authorities evacuated 2,874 people from low-lying areas. They deployed 170 boats mainly in Konaseema and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts for moving people to safer areas. Relief camps had been opened to accommodate 46,079 people. 65 medical camps have been opened to provide necessary treatment to people in the camps.

After Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed the situation arising out of heavy rains and floods with senior officials, the state government has issued three GOs.

Accordingly, essential commodities – 25 kg rice, 1 kg red gram, 1 kg cooking oil, 1 kg onions and 1 kg potatoes – have been given to all the affected families free of cost.

Financial assistance of ₹10,000 has been extended to owners of each damaged / destroyed hut / thatched house, unlike the earlier practice of offering ₹5,000.

In addition, affected persons in relief camps will be given financial assistance of ₹1,000 per head, subject to a maximum of ₹2,000 per family, when they return to their houses.

Agriculture and horticulture authorities are assessing the extent of damage to crops due to heavy rainfall and floods. State government is making efforts to provide agricultural inputs like seeds to raise fresh crops in places where the earlier crops have suffered irrecoverable damage.

Though the state government has ruled out any deaths due to heavy rains and floods in affected districts, two deaths have been reported. One in Kunavaram mandal, where a woman cattle grazer, M. Venkata of Dugatta village, slipped into floodwaters and died. The other death is of T. Satyanarayana of Bhimavaram, who passed away while being shifted to Bhadrachalam for treatment of a pre-existing ailment.

Water level in Godavari is continuing to rise with discharge of 14.80 lakh cusecs of water into the sea from Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowleswaram at 9 pm. The discharge of water is expected to rise further. 96,090 cusecs of water is being discharged from Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada as at 9 pm.

Authorities are keeping close watch all along the courses of both Krishna and Godavari rivers, mainly in low-lying areas and where bunds are weak, to ensure safety of people and properties.