Visakhapatnam: Torrential rains caused landslides, hours-long traffic snarls and flooding in several parts of Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Significant accumulation of water was seen at Poorna Market, Gnanapuram, Allipuram, Gajuwaka, Pendurthi and Maddilapalem.
In Gnanapuram, water collected beneath a bridge, halting traffic and leaving motorists struggling to navigate inundated roads. In Kancharpalem, a compound wall near the railway station collapsed, damaging parked vehicles. No casualties were reported.
A similar incident occurred at the CBM Compound, where another wall collapsed but no serious injuries were reported.
In the hilly region near Gopalapatnam, landslides caused panic among locals. Buildings were left on the verge of falling. A total of 500 houses are located atop the Gopalpatnam Hill and all the people there have been shifted to safe places.
GVMC commissioner P. Sampath Kumar, who is currently in Vijayawada, conducted a virtual review on Sunday. He instructed GVMC engineers to alert the people in hilly and low-lying areas and evacuate them to safe places.
The commissioner also instructed officials to remove trees from roads and streets and repair electric poles immediately.
Visakhapatnam district experienced heavy rain across all its mandals, with average rain of 6.07 cm on Sunday.
Bheemunipatnam received the highest rainfall, recording 8.7 cm, followed by Maharanipeta with 7.44 cm and Seethamadhara with 7.26 cm. Anandapuram saw 6.88 cm of rainfall, while Visakhapatnam rural recorded 6.64 cm.
Pedagantyada and Padmanabham received 5.58 cm and 5.36 cm, respectively.
Other wet areas include Gopalapatnam (5.24 cm), Mulagada (4.86 cm), Gajuwaka (4.58 cm), and Pendurthi (4.28 cm).
The police have urged residents to contact the cyclone control room or the police control room for assistance. The contact numbers are 08912590102, 08912590100, 08912565454, 100, and 112.
